The lighter side of Shag

When Graham Henry was Head Caoch, Shag took a back step in terms of the media and adopted a stance of suspicion. After he took over the reins, he realised he had to change that stance.

He is not averse to entering mind games with opposition coaches and there are times when he oversteps that mark but generally, like Henry, his relationship with the media and indeed the players has lightened. The problem is that he has a dry sense of humour. Outwardly, it is difficult to tell whether he is joking or not because his humour is normally delievered in a dead-pan manner.

Recently a radio journalist impersonated Shag in a conversation with TJ Perenara: http://www.radiosport.co.nz/audio/250601301–steve-hansen–calls-tj-perenara . You might have difficulty understanding what is being said if you're not familiar with Kiwi speak. What you probably don't know is that the same person impersonating Shag recorded a conversation with him previously and did it imitating Shag. The real Shag gave him some pointers about how to sound more convincing.

PS The boys at training have been giving TJ grief about his shapely legs.