Hansen speaks on Deans situation

ALL BLACKS coach Steve Hansen says his Wallabies counterpart Robbie Deans is not a bad coach, but admits his players look bereft of ideas on how to end New Zealand’s Bledisloe Cup dominance.

Deans is under increasing pressure to retain his job as Australian mentor, and it has risen to such an extent that there is now talk of him being relegated down to a Super Rugby coaching position with the Waratahs.

Speaking on LiveSPORT today, Hansen would not be drawn on what might happen to his fellow countryman, but did feel his gracious remarks in the wake of the All Blacks’ 22-0 blanking of the Wallabies last Saturday smacked a “wee bit of Robbie covering his backside”.

Asked if Deans was feeling the pressure, Hansen replied: “He's bound to be, he’s got to be. I think the players are too.”

Hansen says he noticed it when he mingled with some of the Wallabies after the game at Eden Park.

“They had the same look in their faces. They were flabbergasted, where do we go next, what do we do next? It’s not a great position to be in when you are like that, because if you've got no answers, you can't actually improve.”

Despite that, however, Hansen says Deans is not a bad coach – despite having only won three of his 17 tests against the All Blacks since 2008.

“Just because Australia aren’t winning against us doesn't make Robbie a bad coach. He had a great record with the Crusaders, where he obviously had a really good team.

“I've spent a lot of time coaching with him, he's not a bad coach. Any team that gets his services are going to benefit from it.

“They are still the No 2 side in the world. He’s copping a lot of flak for losing to us, rather than people looking at the bigger picture.”