All Blacks v Wallabies, Dunedin, 19th October 2013

[Bullrush]

Highly ironic, or a complete lack of self-awareness? It's easy to be smug and condescending when your team wins just about every time - it is the privilege of that record, I guess. I would love to see how many smart one-liners, niggling other teams and coaches, Shag would come up with if he was navigating a tougher course.
He obviously has a good team, and I respect his coaching ability, but I struggle to warm at all to him. Graham Henry had a drier, wry sense of humour.

I think it's great for rugby. Who really wants to 'warm' to the opposition? Hopefully the Wallabies are sticking this on the wall in the lockers before the game and using it to get up and shove back in Hansen's face.

Awesome stuff for ruggers I reckon......

 

[cyclopath]

I think it's great for rugby. Who really wants to 'warm' to the opposition? Hopefully the Wallabies are sticking this on the wall in the lockers before the game and using it to get up and shove back in Hansen's face.

Awesome stuff for ruggers I reckon..

It was a personal opinion, not a statement about how rugby should be. He usually waits until someone actually says anything before wailing about it, but good to see he's pre-empting now.
It's a no-win for any Australian player or coach - if they're asked if they are confident going into a Test, and say they're going into it it trying to win, they're "arrogant / cocky / talking themselves up". I'd love to see him have to answer hard questions sometime.

 

[Muttonbird]

"This win will have given them an injection and, as we all know, you don't have to give an Aussie too much of an injection for his confidence to start coming out of his mouth."

Lol.

Kiwi's might find Hansen's quip funny because they think it's an accurate observation of the Australian condition in general. Self-confident yes, and that's a nice trait to have, but also brash, cocksure, and usually unapologetic about it.

 

[lewisr]

Fuck, fardy is out

 

[RoffsChoice]

Fortunately only for the one game. You'd expect the backrow would go to
6. Mowen, 8. McCalman

 

[Ash]

Yup, and who goes to the bench? Gill or Dennis?

 

[cyclopath]

Gill would make most sense.

 

[Hawko]

Yup, and who goes to the bench? Gill or Dennis?

I know that too much is never enough (thanks Meatloaf) but I think Michael Hooper has played and will play too much top level rugby this year. He is bound to break something soon because he has to be getting fatigued. If I was Link this week I'd sidle up to Hooper and ask which niggling injury he had was the worst and then announce that due to that injury he was being rested, but he would be fit for the EOYT.

Then Gill would go to 7 and have Dennis as bench cover. Gill would be jumping out of his skin for a game and certainly ready to be a real pest at the breakdown. Gill's breakdown work is superior to Hooper's (while Hooper is a better attacker) and against the NZ backrow, who are in all-time-best form, he would be the better choice.

Yes, I know the usual subjects will be screaming "NO ROTATION" but just look at the list of players not considered for the EOYT. Nine of the twelve players have neck or shoulder injuries. You can add Crawford to the list too, he would have got called up before Betham four weeks ago except for a shoulder injury.

You either rotate your players at the elite level to reduce the impact of fatigue or they get rotated for you through injury rehab. So everyone selects teams by rotation; with most teams its unplanned rather than planned.

 

[Groucho]

I can't see the Wallabies winning tbh. But very happy to be proven wrong!

But the main thing for me is that we play closer to our potential and as well as we can play. I think we need to focus on doing that every game, and building/improving on that every game. Once we do that, the results will take care of themselves.

The main thing for me is winning. I'd take that over playing closer to our potential.

 

[Groucho]

Just read this in the Herald...Hansen is gold!

Hanson sounds like a bigot. Most coaches respect opposition teams, and more importantly opposition nations. Imagine if Link started airing national stereotypes about opposing teams for comedy value. Leave the easy slander to Internet forums.

 

[Forcefield]

Lol.

Kiwi's might find Hansen's quip funny because they think it's an accurate observation of the Australian condition in general. Self-confident yes, and that's a nice trait to have, but also brash, cocksure, and usually unapologetic about it.

Australians might find Hansen's quip funny because he talks a lot about "Injections" and "Confidence coming out of the mouth". Very Freudian. Clearly there is something deep and unresolved going on there.

 

[MajorlyRagerly]

Hanson sounds like a bigot. Most coaches respect opposition teams, and more importantly opposition nations. Imagine if Link started airing national stereotypes about opposing teams for comedy value. Leave the easy slander to Internet forums.

A bigot? Piss off, not even close to factual.

Id rather he didn't say shit like this, but it's his choice. And for what it's worth, I agree with him.

Although I would say that it equates to more than just the mouth. All your sports teams are better with confidence, swagger and arrogance. The whole Aussie battler thing is bullshit.

Aussie battlers are crap. Arrogant Aussie sportsmen, are world beaters.

 

[Groucho]

A bigot? Piss off, not even close to factual.

Id rather he didn't say shit like this, but it's his choice. And for what it's worth, I agree with him.

Although I would say that it equates to more than just the mouth. All your sports teams are better with confidence, swagger and arrogance. The whole Aussie battler thing is bullshit.

Aussie battlers are crap. Arrogant Aussie sportsmen, are world beaters.

Hansen said:

"You don't have to give an Aussie too much injection for his confidence to start coming out of his mouth"

As an Aussie I find that offensive. It doesn't matter how much we may be easy target for some (thankfully a small minority of) Kiwis, it's still bigotry. Substitute black for it and see how it sounds.

If you agree with him (like you say) then you're a bigot too. Nationalistic stereotyping isn't restricted to minorities.

Australians have a right to be offended by that kind of nonsense from a national sports coach.

 

[Sully]

Seriously? Are you really offended or just first world internet offended?

 

[Zander]

I think he sort of crossed the line when he referred to Aussies as opposed to the Australian rugby team.

 

[lewisr]

Seriously? Are you really offended or just first world internet offended?

I see where groucho is coming from but good point, Sully. Frankly I don't give a shit. I just hope the wallabies beat the bastards so then Hansen looks like a complete idiot.

 

[I like to watch]

I think he sort of crossed the line when he referred to Aussies as opposed to the Australian rugby team.

It's just banter,who fucking cares.

 

[Bairdy]

Very bold of you Groucho to assume that Hansen is a bigot based on those media sound bites. Is he stereotyping Aussies? Of course, but he's not being prejudice against us, which is a different issue entirely.

Anyway, it's not new of Hansen to be tactless when talking in the media; Kiwis lap it up without a second thought

 

[MajorlyRagerly]

Hansen said:

"You don't have to give an Aussie too much injection for his confidence to start coming out of his mouth"

As an Aussie I find that offensive. It doesn't matter how much we may be easy target for some (thankfully a small minority of) Kiwis, it's still bigotry. Substitute black for it and see how it sounds.

If you agree with him (like you say) then you're a bigot too. Nationalistic stereotyping isn't restricted to minorities.

Australians have a right to be offended by that kind of nonsense from a national sports coach.

Call me a bigot then Groucho. Apt user name btw.

For what's its worth I have no problem stereotyping anybody. Including myself.

Gagger banned me once for being think skinned. Just sayin

 

[Hugh Jarse]

I would have little to post about if stereotyping was banned.

I think we need to HTFU and move on about Hansen's comments.

Best just to ignore them and not give him any satisfaction.

There is a good anecdote in The Fitz Files today about a pair of streakers at the Wobs vs Romania game. The crowd just ignored them and they had to humbly return to where they disrobed and re-robe. Best thing to do with attention seeking grandstanders. Deny them the oxygen they thrive on.