Steve Hansen’s World Cup ‘chokers’ message for Ireland

Steve Hansen says world No 1 Ire;and’s haunting Rugby World Cup[ record would see them labelled “chokers” if they were the All Blacks.

Hansen, the former All Blacks coach who helped end New Zealand’s 24-year World Cup drought in 2011 and then backed it up in 2015, noted that the tournament remains Ireland’s Achilles heel.

Hansen was commenting on Ireland’s impressive Six Nations grand slam as he gets set to coach a World XV against a British Barbarians team at Twickenham in London on May 29.

Ireland have never got further than the quarterfinals at a World Cup and Hansen’s All Blacks demolished them 46-14 at that stage at the last tournament in Japan in 2019.

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Hansen senses immense pressure on Andy Farrell’s Irish outfit for this year’s World Cup in France.

“Every time a team is number one in the world, you’ve got to consider them to be a World Cup contender – but it’s a tough tournament to win, and they were number one going into the last one, weren’t they? So, they’ve seemed to struggle a little bit at World Cups. If it was the All Blacks, they’d probably be called ‘chokers’,” Hansen told UK media.

“Ireland were good throughout the Six Nations. In that final game they started off a bit shaky and England rattled them a bit, but once the red card came it was game over and they were good enough to take advantage of it.

“But they’ve come a long way, they believe in themselves, and they’re a very good side, so they’re definitely a contender. But they’ll have to overcome the pressure of not having gone past the quarterfinals before, and there’ll be a lot of pressure involved in that.

“If they get through to the semifinals, then they’re in new territory. That’s something they’ll have to deal with that they’ve never dealt with before, and it’s always hard to deal with something you haven’t dealt with before.”

Hansen also noted the other feature of the Six Nations was the inability of England and Wales to make headway after coaching changes ahead of that tournament. Australian Eddie Jones was sacked at England and replaced by Steve Borthwick, while Wales replaced Wayne Pivac with returning Kiwi Warren Gatland.

“It’s an interesting time,” Hansen said.

“The two coaches who got sacked from England and Wales (Eddie Jones and Wayne Pivac) will be looking back thinking, ‘well, there you go. It wasn’t just the coaches, was it?’”

Hansen felt England could still be a factor at the next World Cup in France.

“England are still England; they can still pop up, and they’ve got plenty of talent,” he said. England beat the All Blacks in the 2019 semifinals to end Hansen’s hopes of a hat-trick of titles.

Hansen will tangle horns with Jones who will be in charge of the British Barbarians.

Hansen has confirmed three exciting backs for his World XV – former All Blacks midfielder Ngani Laumampe, Fijian wing Semi Radradra and Wallaby Marika Koroibete.

“I know a lot about Ngani from his All Black days. Before he had a little injury [in Japan] he was playing outstanding rugby. Marika is just a wonderful player; lots of energy and he works for 80 minutes,” Hansen said.

“Semi’s strong, fast, and a good athlete. Fijians always just naturally know how to play footy. They love the running aspects of the game, and they play a lot of sevens, so they’re highly skilled and always brings that bit of x-factor.

“So, I’m just really looking forward to working with them all, and excited about the game because it’s going to be played in the right manner.