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2021 British & Irish Lions Tour
Test Match 2: All Blacks v British & Irish Lions (Wellington)
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<blockquote data-quote="Thingimubob" data-source="post: 863596" data-attributes="member: 20956"><p>Haha first time I've heard Aberdare described as "charming" ! Glad you had a good time watching the game in South Wales, we do love it when NZers visit!</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Ironic thing is, Hansen's tenure as Wales coach was overall not that amazing, oversaw a record 11 straight losses, which included a first ever loss to Italy in '03 (part of a wooden spoon campaign). However the showings in the '03 RWC and '04 6N arguably laid the ground work for the team that won the '05 Grandslam.</p><p></p><p>There's still a bit of debate about whether that thriller vs NZ in the '03 was a matter of him chucking lambs to the slaughter in a game where it didn't matter if we lost, or if he thought that team would produce a free flowing rugby we needed vs the All Blacks. </p><p></p><p>Probably a mixture of the two, as the largely 2nd string team played like they had nothing to lose and have said since that Hansen had put a game plan in place for them to play free flowing rugby, as last time we'd played NZ we'd tried to be conservative and got battered 55 - 3. </p><p></p><p>Stories have however emerged since that he clashed a fair bit with a number of Welsh player - notably Shane Williams, who isn't exactly known for being the type to cause trouble. </p><p></p><p>Hansen subscribed to the theory that Shane was too small, despite being one of the form players in Wales at the time. He only scraped into the '03 RWC squad as a 3rd choice Scrum Half (don't think he'd played much there for years), and spent most of the tournament as a water boy / tackle bag holder. </p><p></p><p>Apparently the two had a sweary shouting match after Shane kept tearing the 1st XV defense to shreds on the counter in a training game, as Hansen wanted him to kick the ball like he expected the Tongans too. Apparently Shane rightly (if not politely...) pointed out that if they leave gaps they were gonna run it back, which Hansen didn't appreciate! </p><p></p><p>Either way, imagine Hansen's relatively rough time with Wales definitely helped him learn plenty of lessons on how to be a World Cup winning coach!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Thingimubob, post: 863596, member: 20956"] Haha first time I've heard Aberdare described as "charming" ! Glad you had a good time watching the game in South Wales, we do love it when NZers visit! Ironic thing is, Hansen's tenure as Wales coach was overall not that amazing, oversaw a record 11 straight losses, which included a first ever loss to Italy in '03 (part of a wooden spoon campaign). However the showings in the '03 RWC and '04 6N arguably laid the ground work for the team that won the '05 Grandslam. There's still a bit of debate about whether that thriller vs NZ in the '03 was a matter of him chucking lambs to the slaughter in a game where it didn't matter if we lost, or if he thought that team would produce a free flowing rugby we needed vs the All Blacks. Probably a mixture of the two, as the largely 2nd string team played like they had nothing to lose and have said since that Hansen had put a game plan in place for them to play free flowing rugby, as last time we'd played NZ we'd tried to be conservative and got battered 55 - 3. Stories have however emerged since that he clashed a fair bit with a number of Welsh player - notably Shane Williams, who isn't exactly known for being the type to cause trouble. Hansen subscribed to the theory that Shane was too small, despite being one of the form players in Wales at the time. He only scraped into the '03 RWC squad as a 3rd choice Scrum Half (don't think he'd played much there for years), and spent most of the tournament as a water boy / tackle bag holder. Apparently the two had a sweary shouting match after Shane kept tearing the 1st XV defense to shreds on the counter in a training game, as Hansen wanted him to kick the ball like he expected the Tongans too. Apparently Shane rightly (if not politely...) pointed out that if they leave gaps they were gonna run it back, which Hansen didn't appreciate! Either way, imagine Hansen's relatively rough time with Wales definitely helped him learn plenty of lessons on how to be a World Cup winning coach! [/QUOTE]
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Test Match 2: All Blacks v British & Irish Lions (Wellington)
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