Hanson confirms leaving the All Blacks...

First topic message reminder :

Probably the worst kept secret, but Steve Hansen has announced he will step down after the 2019 World Cup. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/46561489)

But the real reason for me posting this, is so stop the rumours and invasion into my privacy. I can confirm, I will not be taking the position of All Black coach. They pleaded with me, and have offered obscene amounts of money but I have to put my family first and as such have declined the position.

NZRU have said how disappointed they are, and they will now have to look to the next best coaches like Schmidt or Gatland.

miaow wrote:

Cyril wrote:Wales are about as negative and unambitious a side as there is in world rugby. Good in defence but offer little in attack and often terrible to watch (just ask their fans). England in a slump have still been too much for Wales. I don’t think Wales have too much more to offer than their usual plucky defence. England to move though the gears again to put them away once again.

Miaow, you just tend to type as many words as possible and don’t really get to the point. It’s mostly garbage to be honest.

Hit a nerve Cyril?

No team in world rugby has defeated England more times than Wales. Cyril is probably just a little insecure about that.

miaow, seriously, don't bother.

He is one of the fundamental reasons why I do not spend much time on here anymore. Well members like him, and the MODS allowing his behaviour anyway.

This place has gone to the dogs.

Yes please don't bother. You should take that advice yourself ld.

God, I do laugh when people here compare a kindergarten (606v2) to the real blood and guts depraved world of social media inter reaction in that big bad Internet world beyond this place.

You boys who do often complain about the level of wummery here, well - you must live very cosy non-online lives when not here. I kinda envy you sometimes. But this place isn't in any way bad enough at anything to be boycotted

Miaow I think by mentioning Wales and Gatland your blurring SCWs message. gatlands absence may have impacted Wales but thats a lot different from what SCW is saying. Knowing someone is leaving ahead of time is different from ones absence. If hes right then both ireland and wakes should struggle at 6N time. But he fails to apply the theiory there. So I guess we’ll see.

Leinster were playing in Europe (Comp) at the weekend.  The inevitable camera scan of the crowds took in Joe Schmidt and Farrell sitting and observing.  A big cheer ensued as Joe mouthed an embarrassed 'schidt'.

It was funny.  But my point is I think fate is fate and Ireland might very lose a few games in 6N, but the players have the same attitude of the fans.  They'll be determined to give it everything at the right times next year... and part of that will be to send Joe off on a high.  Mightn't happen but I don't think early mention of him leaving will kill off Irish team's will to win.  It'll accentuate it.

Woodward’s theory could be right though in a reverse ferret sorta way.

After the Jones announcement in January 2018 that he was staying for another two years, look what happened to England......

Taylorman wrote:Miaow I think by mentioning Wales and Gatland your blurring SCWs message. gatlands absence may have impacted Wales but thats a lot different from what SCW is saying. Knowing someone is leaving ahead of time is different from ones absence. If hes right then both ireland and wakes should struggle at 6N time. But he fails to apply the theiory there. So I guess we’ll see.

Yeah, good point, it is a different issue. I was bringing it up as my gripe is the now almost mandatory four year cycle coaches/unions get stuck in. When it came to Gatland and the Lions, he's genuinely only really been concentrating solely on Wales in 14/15 since 2011. Last season proved a suprisingly decent season for Wales because, in part, I think we had Gatland 'there' and not worrying about winning the Lions job again/what comes after the RWC. A coach being focused on something in the coming season or two seems detrimental if they're juggling that with other more immediate issues, particularly when it's a completely different job. So not exactly the same with Gatland, but still relevant to bring up, I think.

I also wanted to pick up Wooward's point as there's definitely something to it. It's easy to dismiss what he says because, in part, he talks a load of outdated rubbish, or delivers earnest assessments on really mundane/obvious points with generalisations that you'd be disappointed with a journalist coming out with, let alone a RWC winning coach. But despite the fact he's an easy target to dismiss in the general rugby universe these days, I think he has a point here, even if it might not necessarily be the one he's making.

As Pot has alluded to above, having a coach's tenure go beyond a RWC cycle could be a blessing - you're freed up to fire them if it gets sticky, and you also don't get the potential loss of authority/focus within all areas of a group when hoping to finish on a high.

I read Woodward's article and I think there's another point in here. Too tired to go in depth, but it's the difference between club - i.e. coaching every day, a match every week - and international coaching. Very, very different beasts. The example of Sir Alex Ferguson is pertinent to this.

miaow wrote:

Taylorman wrote:Miaow I think by mentioning Wales and Gatland your blurring SCWs message. gatlands absence may have impacted Wales but thats a lot different from what SCW is saying. Knowing someone is leaving ahead of time is different from ones absence. If hes right then both ireland and wakes should struggle at 6N time. But he fails to apply the theiory there. So I guess we’ll see.

Yeah, good point, it is a different issue. I was bringing it up as my gripe is the now almost mandatory four year cycle coaches/unions get stuck in. When it came to Gatland and the Lions, he's genuinely only really been concentrating solely on Wales in 14/15 since 2011. Last season proved a suprisingly decent season for Wales because, in part, I think we had Gatland 'there' and not worrying about winning the Lions job again/what comes after the RWC. A coach being focused on something in the coming season or two seems detrimental if they're juggling that with other more immediate issues, particularly when it's a completely different job. So not exactly the same with Gatland, but still relevant to bring up, I think.

I also wanted to pick up Wooward's point as there's definitely something to it. It's easy to dismiss what he says because, in part, he talks a load of outdated rubbish, or delivers earnest assessments on really mundane/obvious points with generalisations that you'd be disappointed with a journalist coming out with, let alone a RWC winning coach. But despite the fact he's an easy target to dismiss in the general rugby universe these days, I think he has a point here, even if it might not necessarily be the one he's making.

As Pot has alluded to above, having a coach's tenure go beyond a RWC cycle could be a blessing - you're freed up to fire them if it gets sticky, and you also don't get the potential loss of authority/focus within all areas of a group when hoping to finish on a high.

Err... that’s not what I was alluding to but, hell, go for it..

Haha, yeah, misread. Eyes are blurry, too tired...

miaow wrote:I read Woodward's article and I think there's another point in here. Too tired to go in depth, but it's the difference between club - i.e. coaching every day, a match every week - and international coaching. Very, very different beasts. The example of Sir Alex Ferguson is pertinent to this.

So is Lancaster..

As Taylorman just said - there are both pros and cons to the carbon tax concept.

SecretFly wrote:As Taylorman just said - there are both pros and cons to the carbon tax concept.

Nah, as a great man once said...’its cold outside, wheres that bloody global warming when you need it? ‘

Taylorman wrote:

SecretFly wrote:As Taylorman just said - there are both pros and cons to the carbon tax concept.

Nah, as a great man once said...’its cold outside, wheres that bloody global warming when you need it? ‘

I think it's due sometime around Jan 1st.  I hope the hell it doesn't get too hot with too many mushroom clouds forming but............... it seems things might warm up a reasonable tad according to some forecasts.

Or if not around September next year just above the equator when all sorts of hot and colds will prevail for a fee weeks. Only the best prepared and toughest will survive that one. The meek will perish im afraid

Looks like Schmidt has pretty much ruled himself out of the ABs job.

https://www.the42.ie/joe-schmidt-all-blacks-accidental-4456170-Jan2019/

He insisted yesterday (at the 6 nations launch) that he doesn’t have a great interest in coaching the All Blacks.

“Not really,” said Schmidt at the Six Nations launch in London. “I don’t want to bore you with the whole history of it but I’m an incredibly accidental coach. Even when I started coaching, it was when I first started teaching.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/international/110124151/joe-schmidt-rules-himself-out-of-all-blacks-coaching-job-in-2020

In fairness why would you want to go from coaching the best side in the world to the second best.

It was an amazing little interview.... the shrug of 'look, coaching doesn't mean as much to me as you'd like it to'.

He seemed a different person out there. Fresher. Looked like a lot of weight had come off his shoulders mentally.

Don't know if that will come back to haunt Ireland into this year and the WC or whether it's only an attitude in him that will last until the start of the 6N. But he looked like a man relieved that he was exiting rugby. The pressure he always seemed under wasn't a feint. It obviously had been a big stress in his life, mentally and perhaps physically.

I liked the interview - outfoxed the media again. Maybe he'll come back to Ireland in a year or two to replace Nucifora who himself will obviously be having offers and thoughts about moving on? That would be a less stressful job in the background for Joe if he considered it.