Steve Hansen doesn’t shirk the tough calls

If you’re an All Black waiting to hear if you’ve made the World Cup squad, the one name you don’t want to see on your mobile phone is Steve Hansen’s.

All Blacks coach Hansen always takes it upon himself to be the bearer of bad news, which meant this time he had to have 12 difficult conversations.

After the drama of the last World Cup, when the All Blacks ended 24 years of pain to win the prize again thanks to an excruciating 8-7 final victory over France, the recent squad announcement for the 2015 tournament was hyped in New Zealand like never before.