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'Freak of nature': Former All Blacks boss Steve Hansen reveals 'best athlete I ever coached'
Steve Hansen has revealed the best athlete he ever coached in his illustrious rugby career spanning 24 years.
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The former All Blacks coach was spoilt for choice with players he mentored as an assistant from 2004 until 2011 and as the head coach from 2012 until 2019, with the likes of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Kieran Read and Keven Mealamu – among many others – enjoying stellar careers under him.
But speaking to The Daily Telegraph in Australia, Hansen labelled former All Black, now Sydney Rooster, Sonny Bill Williams as “a freak” and “the best athlete I ever coached”.
“The greatest rugby player I’ve coached was (Richie) McCaw but Sonny would be the best athlete I’ve coached from a pure athlete sense,” Hansen said. “He’s a freak of nature.”
Hansen mentored Williams in the All Blacks in two separate stints between 2011 and 2019. He stepped down from the role after last year’s World Cup, which Williams competed in, with 93 wins in 107 tests – an 87 percent winning rate, the best by any rugby coach with at least 15 games under their belt.
He also described Williams as a “role model.”
“Sonny is 35 now but he’s been an active athlete for a long time and he really looks after himself. He’s a freak of nature,” Hansen said.
“There is no reason, as long as he stays injury-free, that he won’t do the job. He had been out of league for a while before coming back and going to Toronto, but he’s just such a good athlete.
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“As he has got older, he has matured. His training habits and his off-field habits are world-class now. He will be a good role model for the young fellas in the club.”
Williams was a part of New Zealand’s World Cup wins in 2011 and 2015, coming off the bench in both finals. Against Australia in the 2015 decider, he executed a pivotal play – offloading to a rampaging Ma’a Nonu who beat a handful of defenders to score, handing New Zealand a comfortable 18-point lead early in the second half.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEpx2ElAwgQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Hansen said that pass was a perfect example of why Williams is so impressive.
“That is the sort of thing he can do, can’t he? He can do things other people can’t do.”
Williams’ unique combination of strength and skill has made him one of, if not the, greatest rugby code-hopper, with titles in the NRL and world rugby coupled with mesmerising performances.
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“There are a lot of similarities (between rugby league and union). You have that rushed defence and a shorter offside line than we have so you can learn things from that,” Hansen said.
“They are two different games but the fundamentals are the same.”
Williams has 118 NRL games to his credit and 24 tests with the Kiwis, as well as 58 test caps with the All Blacks. During his time with the Crusaders, Chiefs and Blues in Super Rugby, he gained 61 caps.
Hansen said he keeps an eye on the NRL and will watch Williams’ return with keen interest. Tomorrow night will mark the 35-year-old’s first match in the competition in six years, where he is set to come off the bench in the Roosters grand final rematch against the Raiders in Canberra.
Meanwhile, Hansen said with no All Blacks games on-field yet, he feels no sense of loss having stepped away from coaching. A Bledisloe series and Rugby Championship have both been discussed between respective Sanzaar unions for 2020, but nothing has been finalised.
But Hansen expects if there is an All Blacks game soon, he will feel it.
“I’m sure there will be a tug in the old heart when they finally get out onto the track. But Fossie [Ian Foster] will do a great job with them I’m sure, and I’m really excited for him to take the team to the next level.
“It will be exciting to watch.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Well where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
2 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
2 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to comments