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Hansen set to head north and raid the Waratahs en route - reports

New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen. Photo / Getty Images
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Rugby World Cup-winning head coach Steve Hansen’s future has been heavily speculated on for the last few years.

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The 59-year-old confirmed last year that he will leave his role with the All Blacks after the RWC, having led them to triumph in 2015, as well as having been an assistant coach when the side won the 2011 edition of the tournament.

He has been linked with multiple roles in Europe, including the England and France head coaching positions, as well as roles off the field in New Zealand, and it looks as if a move north may materialise, albeit in a slightly different direction.

According to a report in Australia’s Daily Telegraph, Hansen is being lined up by Japanese Top League club Toyota Verblitz to be their new director of rugby.

Verblitz are no stranger to RWC-winning coaches, with the team currently guided by South African Jake White, but the success that White has enjoyed in several of his previous tenures has eluded him in Japan. Verblitz finished 4th in the Top League last season and have never won the competition in its current guise.

The club have already announced the signings of Kieran Read and Willie le Roux for next season, with those two stars of the game set to join the likes of Jason Jenkins and Gio Aplon in Toyota, as well as a number of prominent Japanese internationals such as Male Sa’u, Jamie Henry, Katia Shigeno and Kazuki Himeno.

Verblitz’s eagerness to invest heavily is not just aimed at the playing squad and the director of rugby position, either, with the Daily Telegraph report also stating that Simon Cron, an assistant coach at the Waratahs, is being targeted by the Japanese side.

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Cron has got the Waratahs’ scrum success in Super Rugby up over 90% this season, as well as helping them to the fourth-most efficient lineout in the competition, and is highly-prized by a number of teams. He previously coached the Australian U20 team, before taking up his current role with the Waratahs.

If Verblitz can lure both Hansen and Cron to Toyota, alongside Read and le Roux on the pitch, it would represent yet another milestone in the growth and emergence of the Top League as a major player in world rugby.

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Phantom 33 minutes ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

Fact: the gap between the North and the South has narrowed considerably - that I get. However, determining that only selecting only Home grown players or playing in the home country is is the optimal strategy is a bit of a toss up and highly reliant on the economies of the home union. I do understand that England and to a lesser degree Ireland selects home based only. The top 14 is a massive threat to their domestic product. France would probably not be affected (the money is at home). Fiji, Argentina, Samoa, Italy and you could even argue Scotland have only benefitted from this. Their players either go overseas to learn at higher levels (Fiji, Samoa, Argentina) or players coming into their leagues to strengthen the home product and their National teams (Scotland, Italy, Japan).

South Africa used to limit its selection to the home based players, but the reality of a weak currency vs what players could earn oversees meant that you lost access to your best players at some stage of their careers, with very few exceptions. Kolbe left SA as he was considered too small for International Rugby (yes coaches/selectors view), but ironically in France he forced selectors to notice his endeavors and select him. He is only reaching 50 caps now despite being north of 30 - granted rotation and the odd injury also played a role, but for the most part it is having debuted or becoming a regular so late.



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