Peter Jackson: Steve Hansen’s Rugby World Cup ascent started with race to the bottom

For two whole years, the hard times never seemed to leave Steve Hansen alone – none harder than a wintry weekend in Dublin 13 years ago.

His debut as a Test coach with Wales, at Lansdowne Road on the first Sunday of February 2002, resulted in his torpedoed team shipping more than 50 points to Ireland on the day Paul O’Connell won his first cap. It got worse at the airport the next morning when Hansen and his disheveled team beat a retreat to the departure gate.

Spotting the players, a group of disgruntled fans burst forth to the tune of the gospel song He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands with their own mocking words: ‘’We’ve got the worst team in the world.’’