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Phil Walter / Getty Images
All Black Liam Messam, left, and All Blacks coach Steve Hansen pictured speaking during a 2012 training session in Hamilton.
Former All Black Liam Messam thought coach Steve Hansen had gotten him into his early days on the national team.
The 36-year-old, who won 43 international matches over eight years and won a World Cup in 2015, even thought Hansen “hated him.”
Messam in particular gave Hansen, who was then an assistant coach to Graham Henry, quite a beating in 2009 after the then 25-year-old started at No. 8 and had a match to forget during a surprising 27-22 loss to France in Dunedin.
“A lot of things didn’t work out for me; I fell off a few tackles, I probably didn’t make enough back-to-back efforts, and I can remember that very clearly,” Messam wrote in a column for The XV.
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“Then the coaches ripped me a new one. I remember Steve used to be very, very tough on me, but I understand why he is now. He was just trying to help me be a better player.
“At the time, I was like, ‘This guy hates me. This guy is always bugging me. ‘ But eventually I got it. He was the forward coach back then, and he was just trying to help me get to the right level and figure out what I had to do to be an All Black. “
Phil Walter / Getty Images
All Blacks forward Liam Messam appears in action against the United States in Chicago in 2014.
Messam, who played for Japan and France after the 2015 World Cup, returned to New Zealand this year and played for Waikato in the Miter 10 Cup.
He made 179 appearances for the Chiefs between 2006 and 2018, winning two titles.
For what it’s worth, Messam chose the All Blacks to bounce back from back-to-back losses and beat Argentina at Newcastle on Saturday night in their final test of the year.
SYDNEY TOMORROW HERALD
Beauden Barrett and John Plumtree believe the All Blacks did not lack heart in their previous two losses to Argentina and Australia.
“The All Blacks will hear a bit of what has been said about them, but it is their loved ones who are really getting the brunt of the talk, and the general public probably won’t realize that,” Messam wrote for The XV.
“But I have faith that we will recover. Losses are the best learning opportunities and I think this young All Blacks team will have learned many lessons from the past few weeks.”
