Murray Kinsella reports from Oatlands Park Hotel
GRAB THE POPCORN and pull up a chair, Steve Hansen is in the building.
The reigning world champion – he was assistant to Graham Henry back in 2011 – is head coach of the best team in the world. Hansen is also among the best orators in the world of rugby.
His New Zealand team obliterated France in last weekend’s World Cup quarter-finals, a performance that has drawn multiple words of glowing praise from Heyneke Meyer and his Springboks in the build-up to Saturday’s semi-final in Twickenham.
Meyer has claimed that this Kiwi side is ‘probably the best team to ever play the game,’ while also professing to huge respect for Hansen as a rugby man. The Boks have very much been playing the underdog card this week, but Hansen isn’t buying it for a second.
In he walks to a packed press conference at New Zealand’s Oatlands Park Hotel in Weybridge, a 30-minute train ride from London, and sets the tone before a question is even asked.
Firstly, welcome everybody. Great to see you, there is a few more so obviously there is something important happening.”
Appreciative smiles all round, a couple of knowing nods, Hansen has the room.
“Look, we are at the business end of the tournament, we are right where we want to be, really exciting time,” says Hansen. “We’ve got respect for the team we are playing, we think they’re a great side.
“H (Hansen’s nickname for Meyer) has been very complimentary. Just about killed us with with kindness, but we know they want to rip our heads off so we’re not taking too much notice of that.”
Yesterday, Meyer spoke of a nice tradition between himself and Hansen in which the Kiwi coach buys his Springbok counterpart a beer when the New Zealanders are victorious out on the pitch.
So far, Meyer has only bought the beer once, after the 27-25 win at Ellis Park in 2014. Hansen has put his hand in his pocket for the round on six occasions.
Meyer hopes to repay the nicety by buying Hansen a crate of beer on Saturday, after his Boks team has advanced into the World Cup final.
“He went that far into it that I don’t think I’ve got to tell you anything else,” says Hansen when asked about the relationship. “He’s a cunning wee divil is Heyneke, he’s been praising us all week.
“Whilst I know he means some of it, I also know he is getting ready to rip our heads off. If we get caught up in lapping up all the praise we won’t be in the right mental state to play.
“So, move that to one side. We’ve always had a good friendship and it’s become a bit of a tradition if you win the game you shout the other guy a beer because when you lose it sucks, so I guess he’s had his turn of buying and I’ve had my turn.
We’ll wait and see who gets to buy one on the weekend.”
The mention of mental state is key here, perhaps the key for Hansen as the head coach of the Kiwis. At their best, no side can live with them.
Hansen has been keeping a close eye on media coverage of the Boks this week, and identified Meyer’s mind games from an early stage.
“Heyneke has praised us a lot this week and that’s a tactic,” says Hansen. “Behind closed doors I don’t think he is doing that with his team and you can see that in the wee comment that came out of the young lock (Lood De Jager), who said they don’t fear us and they respect us, just not very much.
“I’m sure H wasn’t too happy when he said that, because he is trying to paint a picture that they have to play the best game of their lives. That’s his way of motivating his team. At the same time, he is trying to tell our guys if we just turn up we are going to win.
“We’d be very foolish to fall into that trap because if we don’t turn up with our ‘A game’ we are not even going to have a chance. We’ve got to turn up with our ‘A game’ and a bit more.”
Last weekend’s display against France was impressive, hugely so, but Hansen’s mantra of putting a “full stop” at the end of that performance and moving on has permeated down through his squad.
The words of praise coming from the rest of the world are anathema to Hansen, bringing with them the danger of luring his players into an overconfidence.
“I think the hardest thing in this week’s preparation is coming off the back of such a great win because externally everybody has got a little bit carried away with themselves and there have been some outrageous statements.
“Internally, there is an emotional high to playing like that but it is really important to get a full stop as early as possible. You’ve got to enjoy that moment and can’t hide from it, but you have to put a full stop on it. Otherwise, you don’t go from great to great – you go from great to struggling.
We have acknowledged that to ourselves and we think we have done that, we believe we have done that and if we get that right we will go out and have another great performance. Whether that’s good enough to beat South Africa we have to wait and see.”
With experienced men like Wayne Smith, Grant Fox, Ian Foster and mental guru Gilbert Enoka around him, Hansen understands the need for New Zealand to mentally control themselves in these knock-out games.
In terms of technical skills, pace, tactical awareness and all the other components of rugby, the Kiwis are the very best. There’s respect for the Boks this week, but Hansen has also been keen to remind his players of how precarious their situation is.
“I think if you use another word than respect, it’s fear,” says Hansen. “There is something in it that makes you fear something. It’s a stupid man that doesn’t fear.
“If you are going into a fight for example, if you don’t fear the guy you’re fighting, you are either fighting the wrong bloke or you are stupid. That fear just heightens everything.
“It makes sure all your emotions are in the right place so you can actually deliver the performance you need to. So whilst you respect people, there is a fear factor in this game. If you don’t win you don’t get the prize you want, which is to go to the final.”
One of the things Hansen and his Kiwis have done differently to other squads at this World Cup is invite players’ families to be part of the World Cup journey, bringing wives, girlfriends and children along for the trip.
Some coaches would view that as a distraction, but Hansen sees it as providing stability, support and joy for his players. All of those things, he hopes, ensure greater mental focus when it comes to training and playing.
I guess if I turn that question around and ask how important it is to have your family here you’d say the same thing as I am about to: It’s great to have your loved ones and the people that know you the best with you,” says Hansen.
“But also having an understanding that there are times I have to go where to where I have to go to to be a rugby player and that still happens, which it does, and everyone is well aware of that. There is no problem.
“There is great rewards for having them here; you don’t get homesick for a start and, you know, I think there is less distractions. A lot people would say there is actually more but there is less as you are not fretting about people you love because they are here and you can see them.”
Home comforts for the Kiwis, as well as the comfort of having a leader like Hansen. If his players can match the performance he delivered in Weybridge this afternoon when they face the Boks, they will be in a good place.
Then comes another full stop.
