Rugby: Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen takes over as high performance consultant at NRL with Canterbury Bulldogs

Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is code switching to join the Canterbury Bulldogs in the NRL.

Hansen joins the Bulldogs as a high-performance consultant, and the Bulldogs hope to rebuild after a season in which they finished 15th with just three wins in 20 games.

Bulldogs CEO Andrew Hill is delighted to bring Hansen on board, saying he will work closely with new coach Trent Barrett and his administrative staff, as well as the player leadership group.

‘[It’s] tremendous news for everyone associated with the Bulldogs as he is one of the most respected figures in all of sports, “said Hill.

“Being able to have someone with Steve’s track record and background working with our staff and players will be a huge asset to our club.

“He was responsible for being a major driving force behind one of the most successful sports brands in history and his knowledge and thoughts on areas such as leadership, high performance, preparation and team ethics will be invaluable to our club as we seek to create the environment. suitable for success, on and off the field.

“Steve has already developed a relationship with Trent Barrett, after Trent spent some time with the All Blacks in recent seasons and we believe his knowledge and insights will be of great benefit.”

Barrett told the Daily Telegraph that the role had been in the works since Barrett spent time inside the All Blacks camp.

“We’ve kept in touch and we’ve been talking about this role for a few months,” Barrett said, “This is really important to us.

“When I got the job in Canterbury, I thought it would be ideal and was eager to help out and try something new.

“It’s great for us to take a leadership position and help make sure we get off on the right foot in areas related to culture.

“It is well known that the All Blacks are the benchmark in that regard.”

Hansen resigned as the head coach of the All Blacks after the 2019 Rugby World Cup and took on a role with Toyota Verblitz in Japan as a coaching consultant, ending a 107-game stint in charge of the All Blacks in which he won 93 games. , including a 2015 World Cup Win and six Rugby Championship titles.

Barrett says Hansen will offer advice in all areas of the Bulldogs’ soccer operations, and he hopes that the Covid-19 restrictions will allow Hansen to spend significant time in camp with the club.

“It will be a broad role and it is important for me to have someone of his stature to lean on,” he said.

“There aren’t many things that I haven’t seen or done in sport.

“There are many things we can do with Zoom. Ideally, when he has our camps and when we are preparing, it would be beneficial for him to be here with us. That is something that we will work out.”