Some thought Hansen was playing pre-World Cup mind games but take a step back and there is no other reasonable conclusion
Steve Hansen at his most animated is deadpan, so when he called Ireland the best team in the world after they had beaten New Zealand, who remained at the top of the rankings, he was hard to scrutinise. Was he paying ritual homage to be seen to be magnanimous in defeat or did he, teeth ground together, really mean it?
There was a suspicion he was playing mind games less than a year in advance of the World Cup final but after a decade in which his side has been pre-eminent he is out of practice. If, as coaches and players like to say, you are only as good as your last game, Hansen was playing it straight.
Written by Paul Rees
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/nov/22/rugby-union-steve-hansen-right-ireland-are-worlds-best-breakdown under the title “The Breakdown | Steve Hansen was right, Ireland really are the world’s best rugby union team”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
