Steve Hansen makes honest 2019 Rugby World Cup exit admission : PlanetRugby

On Sep 3, 2023

Former All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has shouldered the blame for his team’s 19-7 loss to England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final.

The side was in impressive form coming into the tournament with a really good chance of an unprecedented three-peat of World Cup titles, which was only reinforced when the All Blacks beat the Springboks in the pool stage.

In the quarter-finals, the New Zealanders dominated Ireland, winning 46-14 and looked the team to beat. Ultimately, England showed them up in the semi-final to send the team crashing out of the competition.

Failed to mentally prepare

Then head coach Hansen reflected on the loss and believes he was responsible for the team going into the clash with a soft mentality.

“I have to take the blame. We beat Ireland pretty convincingly in the quarterfinals,” Hansen told The Times.

“I earmarked that as a danger, but we also had Kieran Read injured, and I was trying to make sure we didn’t lose confidence if he was out.

“I wasn’t demanding enough. I didn’t push enough buttons, and we went in a little soft mentally, and England came in on fire.”

A difficult tournament

The loss highlights how difficult it is to win the tournament with so many good teams over the years unable to claim the title.

“World Cups are the hardest things to win. We were good enough to win in 2007, and we were good enough to win in 2019, but we didn’t,” Hansen said.

“And that’s the facts. That tells you how hard it is to win it.

“You have to survive three weeks in a row against really good opponents.

“You have a mental slip and are a few per cent down, and the other team are 5 per cent above themselves, then you are gone.”

It is less than a week to go until the blockbuster first Test of the 2023 Rugby World Cup as the hosts France welcome the All Blacks for what is likely a Pool A decider in the opening match on Friday.

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