Steve Hansen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Steve Hansen

Hansen in 2020
Birth name	Stephen William Hansen
Date of birth	(1959-05-07) 7 May 1959 (age 66)
Place of birth	Mosgiel, New Zealand
School	Taieri High School Christchurch Boys' High School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre Teams coached Years Team 1996–2001 Canterbury 1999–2001 Crusaders (assistant) 2002–2004 Wales 2004–2011 New Zealand (assistant) 2012–2019 New Zealand

Sir Stephen William Hansen is a famous New Zealand rugby union coach and a former player. He was born on May 7, 1959. He is also the father of Whitney Hansen, who helps coach the Black Ferns.

Steve Hansen was the main coach for the New Zealand national team, known as the All Blacks. He coached them from 2012 to 2019. During this time, the All Blacks won the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He stopped coaching the team after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Early Life and Playing Rugby

Steve Hansen was born in Mosgiel, New Zealand. His parents, Desmond and Lauriss Hansen, were dairy farmers. He went to Outram Primary School, The Taieri High School, and Christchurch Boys' High School.

Before becoming a coach, Hansen worked for six years in the New Zealand Police. He also played rugby as a centre. He played 21 games for the Canterbury team.

Coaching Rugby Teams

Steve Hansen started his coaching journey with the Canterbury rugby team. He coached them from 1996 to 2001. During his time, Canterbury won the National Provincial Championship twice, in 1997 and 2001. From 1999 to 2001, he also helped coach the Canterbury Crusaders team.

Coaching Wales

In 2002, Hansen became a coach for the Wales national team. He was first a forwards coach. But when the head coach left, Hansen took over as the main coach.

His first game in charge was a close 37–33 loss to France. The next year, Wales lost all their games in the 2003 Six Nations Championship. This meant they won the "Wooden Spoon."

However, things started to get better. Wales played well against New Zealand in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. They also had a close quarter-final loss to England. This showed that Hansen was helping the team improve. He left his role as Wales coach at the end of the 2004 Six Nations Championship.

Returning to New Zealand

In 2004, Steve Hansen came back to New Zealand. He became an assistant coach for the All Blacks, working with Graham Henry.

Winning the 2011 Rugby World Cup

Hansen played a big part in helping Graham Henry coach the All Blacks to victory in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final. They won against France, ending a 24-year wait for the All Blacks to win the World Cup. After this big win, Graham Henry's contract ended. Steve Hansen was then officially named the new head coach of the All Blacks on December 15, 2011.

Leading the All Blacks: 2012 to 2019

As head coach, Hansen led the All Blacks to many victories and achievements.

2012: A Strong Start

In his first year, the All Blacks won all three games against Ireland. One game was a huge 60–0 win. They also kept the Bledisloe Cup for the tenth year in a row. Their only loss in 2012 was against England. Because of his great coaching, Hansen was named IRB Coach of the Year for 2012. He also received an honor called "Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit" for his services to rugby.

2013: An Unbeaten Year

The All Blacks continued their success in 2013. They won the 2013 Rugby Championship and kept the Bledisloe Cup. Amazingly, they won all 14 of their matches that year. This was the first time any team had done this in the professional rugby era. Hansen was named IRB coach of the year for the second time.

2014: Another Championship Win

In 2014, the All Blacks won all three games against England. They did lose one Rugby Championship match to South Africa. But they still won the Championship title for the third year in a row. Hansen led the team to more wins on their European tour. He was named World Rugby coach of the year again.

2015: World Cup Champions Again!

Hansen led the All Blacks to Samoa for their first official game there, which they won. In the 2015 Rugby Championship, they finished second after losing to Australia.

However, the main goal was the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The All Blacks played well in the group stage. They then beat France in the quarter-finals and South Africa in the semi-finals. In the final, they faced Australia and won 34–17. This made them the first team ever to win the Webb Ellis Cup two times in a row! It was also their first World Cup win outside New Zealand.

2016: Rebuilding and Records

After the World Cup, several key players retired. Hansen brought in many new players for the series against Wales. Despite the changes, the All Blacks won all three games against Wales.

In July, Hansen agreed to stay as the All Blacks coach until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. During the 2016 Rugby Championship, the All Blacks won their fourth title in five years. They won all six of their games. They also set a new world record of 18 wins in a row for a top-tier team. This amazing run ended when Ireland beat them in Chicago. But Hansen then led the team to three more wins on their tour.

2017: A Tough Lions Series

In 2017, the All Blacks played a test series against the British & Irish Lions. The All Blacks won the first game. But they lost the second game, which was their first home loss since 2009. The final game ended in a 15–15 draw. This meant the series was drawn for the first time ever against New Zealand.

The All Blacks then won the 2017 Rugby Championship with a perfect record of six wins. They had a huge 57–0 win over South Africa. Later in the year, they lost to Australia in a Bledisloe Cup game. Hansen then led a younger team to wins over the Barbarians, France, Scotland, and Wales.

2018: More Success and Challenges

In 2018, France toured New Zealand. Hansen led his team to a 3–0 series win, even with some new players. They kept the Dave Gallaher Trophy.

The All Blacks won their sixth 2018 Rugby Championship title. Their only loss was to South Africa at home. They then beat Australia in the third Bledisloe test. On their end-of-year tour, they beat Japan and England. However, they lost to Ireland in Dublin, which was Ireland's first home win against the All Blacks. They finished the year with a big win over Italy.

2019: Final Year and World Cup

In 2019, the All Blacks finished third in the 2019 Rugby Championship. They had a draw against South Africa and a big loss to Australia. But they still won the Bledisloe Cup by beating Australia in the next game.

In the 2019 Rugby World Cup, New Zealand won their pool. They beat South Africa, who went on to win the tournament. However, New Zealand lost to England in the semi-final. They then beat Wales in the bronze medal match to finish third. Steve Hansen stepped down as coach after this tournament.

2023: Helping the Wallabies

In 2023, it was shared that Hansen would help the Australian team, the Wallabies, for one week. He assisted their coach, Eddie Jones, before the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Coaching Statistics

Team	Years	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	For	Against
Wales	2002–2004	&&&&&&&&&&&&&030.&&&&&030	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&00.&&&&&00	&&&&&&&&&&&&&020.&&&&&020	&&&&&&&&&&&&&033.33000033.33	696	826
New Zealand	2012–2019	&&&&&&&&&&&&0107.&&&&&0107	&&&&&&&&&&&&&093.&&&&&093	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010	&&&&&&&&&&&&&086.92000086.92	3,852	1,736
Total		&&&&&&&&&&&&0137.&&&&&0137	&&&&&&&&&&&&0103.&&&&&0103	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	&&&&&&&&&&&&&030.&&&&&030	&&&&&&&&&&&&&075.18000075.18	4,548	2,562

Awards and Honors

Steve Hansen has won many awards and honors throughout his coaching career.

New Zealand (as Head Coach)

Other Achievements

Images for kids

• 

  Hansen in 2020

See also

In Spanish: Steve Hansen para niños

• High School Old Boys RFC