'Like a superpower': The difference between Henry, Hansen and Foster
After a historic first-ever series loss to Ireland on home soil in 2022 was followed by the first-ever defeat to Argentina at home, New Zealand’s “golden era” looked to be officially in the past. The 2010s were as dominant of a decade as modern rugby has witnessed and that era was spearheaded by a trio of coaches who graduated from being each other’s assistants.
Sir Graham Henry’s tenure as All Blacks head coach could have been short-lived and remembered only for the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals loss to France. But instead, the loss sparked a historic winning period that would see the All Blacks become the first side to ever win back-to-back World Cups.
One man who has been there through the entire process is All Blacks manager Darren Shand. Shand is one of the many long-term All Blacks staff who will see out 2023 as their final year with the team and reflected on his time alongside some of the game’s great coaches.
“I started in 2004 with Sir Graham,” Shand told The Platform. “I didn’t even know him, I was so scared of him and I was actually his boss. That was the role they’d given me. We sat down for lunch and I said ‘How’s this going to work Ted?’ And he said ‘Darren, I just want to coach, you sort out everything else.’ We shook hands and agreed to work together.
“The thing I loved about Ted (Sir Graham Henry) was that he was a pretty experienced coach when he came in but he was brave enough to hire Smithy (Wayne Smith) and Steve (Hansen) who were, you could say his equal as coaches.
“What I’ve learned is that when you can have people pushing you from below, you just become better. So I really admire Ted for that, that was huge. Ted still had his way to some degree but the fact that he had two individuals there that were really outstanding coaches in their own right was pretty special.
“Steve, I just loved his instinctiveness, he just had a knack, it was almost like a superpower where he could, I remember Smithy would spend hours on the computer after matches analyzing it and Steve would just watch a replay for 10 minutes and have the same answer. He was so good at that. Particularly with people, he had that sort of sixth sense.
“And Foz, I really admire what Foz has had to go through, he couldn’t have had a more difficult period of time to have to deal with all the external stuff. Covid, everything’s just not been normal. He’s held himself remarkably well through all that and he’s kept our group together, he’s kept us going and I tip my hat to him for that.
“I want to stand by him and give him the success that he deserves this year.
“They’re all very different. The thing I’ve found with coaches is their upside is unbelievable, their downside can be really challenging and there’s often a bit of a grey bit in the middle.”
Although Foster’s contributions as head coach have not seen the success of his predecessors, his influence during the 2010s is what saw him rewarded with the top job.
Shand emphasised the importance of losing the 2007 quarter-final, noting the amount that was learnt from the loss and how it inspired the ensuing dominance. He was also on the board following the 2007 loss and was proud to have stuck with Sir Graham Henry despite also interviewing Robbie Deans.
Comments on RugbyPass
Danny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
35 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
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