Review: Steve Hansen: The Legacy - the making of a New Zealand coaching great

In February 2012, a few months after getting the All Blacks’ head coach role, Steve Hansen had his first meeting with the senior players. Before he said anything, the 52-year-old instantly grabbed their attention with ten words scrawled across the whiteboard. Be The Most Dominant Team in the History of Rugby was the message written, and an aspiration that came to define his tenure.

Under Hansen’s watch, New Zealand rewrote the record books and set new expectations of what was possible. By the time he stepped down in 2019, he was one of the most popular All Black mentors in history. But he was also one of the most unlikely, a former freezing worker from Mosgiel who arrived in professional coaching via a long stint in the police.

Steve Hansen The Legacy traces his improbable ascent, showing how his varied life experiences, forceful personality, emotional intelligence and rugby IQ produced the perfect fit for the job.

But, as the book reminds us, it wasn’t straightforward. It’s easy to forget now, but when Hansen first came to public prominence, it wasn’t in a flattering light. He didn’t have a particularly outstanding coaching record and could come across as a “sullen brick” at media appearances during his long tenure as All Blacks assistant coach.

The nadir was in 2009, when he got offside with some key rugby journalists, fighting a public war he was never going to win. At the time, Gregor Paul saw Hansen as an “odd piece of luggage” within the All Blacks, unsure of how he fitted and what he was contributing.

The book reveals an ugly confrontation between Hansen and a journalist as his relationship with the media was increasingly strained. But that was also the genesis of Paul’s fascination with his subject, as Hansen realised he had to change and sought professional advice.

“There is something enormously compelling about humans who can confront their flaws and attempt to fix them,” writes Paul. “It alludes to them having the mental strength and inner drive that can lead them to greatness.”

Hansen was the quintessential Kiwi bloke who became an iconic coach, the conjurer with the common touch and his incredible tale has got the treatment it deserves, with this brilliant book.

Hansen evolved spectacularly, becoming someone at ease in front of the cameras and widely respected for his candidness, honesty and humour. That episode sums up the book.

The All Blacks are highly scrutinised and thousands of articles have been written about Hansen and his team, mining every facet of their achievements. But this tome goes much deeper, digging into the why and the how and offering a fascinating portrait of the All Blacks’ machine and the guy at the heart of it all.

Hansen was complex. He could be regarded as a bully, who constantly kept his players on edge but also possessed a human touch rare in high performance sport. “He broke people, made people and saved people,” is the succinct verdict.

The vignettes are compelling. After Hansen’s first test in charge, the players were looking forward to an effusive review following a big victory. Instead, it was like a scene from Lord of the Flies - even legendary captain Richie McCaw wasn’t spared - as Hansen wanted to create a “sense of dread and drama” around the regular match debriefs, part of setting the highest bar possible.

Hansen was tough to deal with – nicknamed “The Last Word” - and could be unrelenting in his psychological battles with opposing coaches. But he also left some players stunned and in tears, with his forgiving reaction following various (off field) indiscretions and possessed an uncanny sixth sense when it came to difficult selection decisions.

The book traces every flashpoint of Hansen’s tenure but in a fresh, entertaining way, with key insights from his lieutenants and prominent players. At times it is overly sympathetic, especially with the suggestions that World Rugby and leading referees were somehow, maybe even subconsciously, conspiring against the All Blacks in the latter years of his reign.

But there is also strong analysis of where Hansen erred, particularly in the context of the 2017 British Lions series and the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

It’s captivating stuff, as Hansen’s attempts to be more empathetic with the younger generation of players ultimately see him lose some of the essence of his greatness: “He was the harsh winter through which the vines must struggle.”

Paul is an authority on his subject, having covered the All Blacks since 2004, and presents at his best here. He is always entertaining – it’s rare to find analogies with the Vietnam War, Macbeth and The Queen’s Gambit in a rugby text – and writes with flair and creativity. There’s deep insight and detail but it’s never overdone, allowing for a cracking pace.

Hansen was the quintessential Kiwi bloke who became an iconic coach, the conjurer with the common touch and his incredible tale has got the treatment it deserves, with this brilliant book. There is plenty of new material and analysis that rugby diehards will love, while the human story will appeal widely across the sporting spectrum.

Reviewed by Michael Burgess