Rugby World Cup Final 2015: Humble Steve Hansen banks on experience to help All Blacks make history

New Zealand coach in relaxed mood ahead of his side's attempt to become the first to retain the Webb Ellis Trophy

Steve Hansen said Ma’a Nonu, here training yesterday, is ‘a more complete man than he used to be’ (Reuters)

As the All Blacks survived a brute of a World Cup semi-final against a South African side in full warpaint only six days ago, they are unlikely to waste precious time on the phone to the Samaritans just because a few Wallaby types are trying to get under their collective skin.

Informed that their great local rivals were throwing the verbals around before Saturday's showpiece at Twickenham, the holders’ head coach, Steve Hansen, said: “They can call us whatever they like. Being Aussies, they probably will.”

Hansen looked as relaxed as could be, given that he and his team are within arm’s reach of something unprecedented. No country has retained the Webb Ellis Trophy and there is no guarantee that the New Zealanders will manage it this time, but it is hard to imagine anyone being in a better position to buck the trend. Hence the former Christchurch police officer’s air of serenity.

“We’ve spent the last four years working towards the stability we now have,” he commented after confirming his decision to stick rather than twist on the selection front and keep faith with the men who edged out the Springboks last weekend. “We have a good group of players who have played a large number of Tests, and a good group who have played an extraordinarily large number of Tests.

“It doesn’t matter what you do in life: experience is massive. And to my mind, there are two types of experiences – the ones you learn from and the ones you don’t. Hopefully, we’ve learnt enough. When you have experienced players in good form, it’s a big advantage.”

Deadpan as ever – during his playing days as a centre good enough to win provincial honours with Canterbury, he was the man who put the “pass” in impassivity – Hansen was bombarded with questions about the All Black titans who are expected to end their Test careers on Saturday: Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith and Keven Mealamu. In keeping with his stance throughout the tournament he was in no hurry to single out individuals, but he cracked in the end.

“Dan Carter had a horrific run of injuries over a couple of seasons and that took away his confidence,” he said, talking of his record-breaking No 10. “Up until then he’d been relatively injury free, but if you’re in this game for long enough you’re going to run into some adversity. It’s a mark of the guy that he came through it. A lot of people might have said ‘enough’s enough’ and chucked it in. He stuck with it and his confidence is back.

“Confidence is a massive thing in sport. When you start to play well, it’s like a snowball: it gets bigger and bigger and suddenly it becomes an avalanche. When that happens to someone like Dan, you have a pretty special player on your hands.”

Not for the first time, or perhaps the 101st, the coach described McCaw as “probably the greatest player we’ve had playing the game for New Zealand”. Nonu, he continued, was an entirely different beast to the one who first appeared in the All Black hierarchy’s binoculars back in the mid-Noughties.

“Ma’a was up and down with his form at that point, up and down with his fitness, and he had a narrow skill base,” Hansen recalled, clearly unwilling to pull his punches. “Now, he’s one of the fittest guys in the team and he has a skill base to die for. He can offload, he can kick and he’s matured into a very good leader. He doesn’t say a lot but when he does speak, it’s reasonably worthwhile listening. He’s a more complete man than he used to be.”

The word “complete” is used an awful lot in respect of these All Blacks and if they find a way past this one last obstacle, they will struggle to avoid the “greatest side in rugby history” tag. As for Hansen, he will be lionised to within an inch of his life.

What were his overriding feelings, this close to the final? “Humility and gratitude,” he replied, with meaning. “This job comes with a lot of responsibility and it’s daunting, but once you get over that, it’s a great place to be.”