‘Shag’ trying to bring us back to earth. Back in 2019, it was hard to find a team that wanted a sniff of the World Cup favourites’ tag. The previous November (2018), Steve Hansen suggested Ireland had set themselves up on the lofty perch by defeating them at Aviva Stadium. Ireland had won the Grand […]

3 years ago

“We got to do it better than we’ve been doing.” The New Zealand rugby team are always in any conversation around the greatest teams in world sport. The aura of the All Blacks stretches beyond the lines of a rugby pitch: the selflessness and sacrifice that the jersey embodies is often lauded as being the […]

6 years ago

‘Shag’ wasn’t standing for this. Accusing a New Zealand team of a lack of hunger is a brave move, but the reporter – having watched England dominate the now-dethroned world champions – must have felt like it was a valid question. Steven Hansen certainly did not see it that way. For the first time since […]

6 years ago

New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen has come under fire after trying to justify his selection of Crusaders winger Sevu Reece in his 39-man All Blacks squad for the first two matches of the Rugby Championship against Argentina and South Africa later this month. Reece was one of six uncapped players named in the squad after a […]

7 years ago

Former Ireland fly-half and Crusaders assistant coach Ronan O’Gara feels that Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt will ultimately return to coach in New Zealand some day. Schmidt looks set to walk away from coaching at the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup after recently announcing his decision to step down from his role as […]

7 years ago

Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has been nominated for the Halberg Award for coach of the year. The Halberg Awards are a set of awards given annually recognising New Zealand’s top sporting achievements and was started in 1949 by NZ Sportsman magazine founder Jack Fairburn. Schmidt is one of three rugby coaches nominated for the award alongside Clark Laidlaw (coach of […]

7 years ago