{"id":33614,"date":"2026-05-03T17:07:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T15:07:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=33614"},"modified":"2026-05-03T17:08:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T15:08:24","slug":"hansen-dismisses-lessons-after-all-blacks-record-loss-to-springboks","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/hansen-dismisses-lessons-after-all-blacks-record-loss-to-springboks\/","title":{"rendered":"Hansen dismisses &#8216;lessons&#8217; after All Blacks record loss to Springboks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">South Africa (SA), coached by Rassie Erasmus, lost 24\u201317 at Eden Park in the first Test of the series, but responded with a dominant 43\u201310 win in Wellington seven days later. The Wellington match was widely regarded as a turning point as SA went on to defend the Rugby Championship title plus complete an unbeaten November tour in the northern hemisphere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Hansen told the <\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">DSPN podcast<\/span><\/em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> that <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">focus<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> should fall on <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">All<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Blacks <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">performance<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> rather than <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Springbok<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> dominance.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> \u201cSomething different\u201d was visible in the All Blacks, Hansen said, adding that the display suggested limited clarity on how to play despite significant talent in the squad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The defeat was later linked to New Zealand Rugby\u2019s decision to part ways with head coach Scott Robertson, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">coming<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> after another Rugby Championship loss to Argentina, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">plus<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> a November tour featuring unconvincing wins over Ireland <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">plus<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> Scotland, a defeat to England, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">plus<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> a hard-fought victory over Wales.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Despite sharp criticism of the Wellington performance, Hansen warned against overreacting to scorelines, pointing to a heavy SA loss in 2017 followed by a successful rebuild that culminated in World Cup victory in 2019. Hansen said unusual circumstances can shape margins, with Wellington described as an example of a poor final 30 to 40 minutes rather than a permanent gap between the teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Hansen still credited SA as the current standard-setter, describing the Springboks as the world\u2019s leading team. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Hansen said the challenge for New Zealand is <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">responding<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> with stronger preparation <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">plus<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> a refreshed approach under a new coaching structure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A tour to SA was described by Hansen as a major test in rugby\u2019s most storied rivalry, with confidence that defeat is always possible for any top side. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Hansen said the decisive factor remains <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">preparation<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> quality plus avoiding complacency.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8211;SABC\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":33615,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-33614","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Former All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has argued that no lessons should be drawn from the record defeat suffered against the Springboks last year, despite the result being viewed as a defining moment in South Africa\u2019s unbeaten run.","published_date":"","news_description":"Former All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has argued that no lessons should be drawn from the record defeat suffered against the Springboks last year, despite the result being viewed as a defining moment in South Africa\u2019s unbeaten run.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/33614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/33614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33617,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/33614\/revisions\/33617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=33614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}