All Blacks: Hansen's future up in the air

Steve Hansen. Photo / Getty Images

There's still much of the copper in Steve Hansen. He doesn't give much away, prefers to deal in facts and does a fine job presenting a front that is not easily perceived as consumer-friendly.

That's why he's not keen to talk about his future. The facts in this case are not clear and Hansen doesn't want to incriminate himself by saying something publicly now that he later regrets.

This is his sixth season as the All Blacks forwards coach. That's a marathon stint by international coaching standards and, without being presumptuous, is probably two years longer than Hansen originally envisioned being in the role.

Would it be crazy to believe that when this current coaching panel was assembled in 2004, they saw a future where they would work together for four years, win the World Cup and then shift to new challenges?

In this perfect world, the new challenge for Hansen was taking over from Graham Henry. There would never have been a guarantee but let's be real: if the All Blacks had won the 2007 World Cup and Henry had moved on, Hansen's case for promotion would have been strong.

But that vision crashed into a darker reality on October 6, 2007. Henry couldn't depart as the all-conquering hero.

Instead he was consumed by his desire for redemption and he needed his wing men - Hansen and fellow assistant Wayne Smith - to help him find it.

We were back to Ted, Shag and Smithy - the three amigos. That was great for Henry. In the original masterplan, his post-2007 future was never clear. Was it coaching consultancy work? Or maybe a director of rugby role at a big European club?

That would have been fine - well paid work where he could be less accountable, give of his knowledge but not carry the stress and emotion home at night.

In the wake of defeat to France in the quarter-final, though, he realised he wasn't ready to give it all up. He wanted the stress, the emotion and ultimately the glory.

But the thing is, Hansen wants all that, too. Under the laconic humour lies a fierce ambition.

Hansen has played Gordon Brown to Henry's Tony Blair. He's lived in the shadows and while there was never an explicit agreement in regard to a succession, there has always been this underlying belief that at some point, by some mechanism, Hansen would neatly step into the head coaching role.

Hansen's belief must now be waning. Henry will soon, and no one should doubt this, be locked in until after the 2011 World Cup.

By then, the window for Hansen will have virtually closed. Robbie Deans and Warren Gatland could potentially be free agents after the next World Cup. Ian Foster and Colin Cooper will be much harder to ignore in two years. Maybe Pat Lam and Todd Blackadder might have pushed on by then. Vern Cotter could come home from France and be interested in the job that Henry will have to vacate.

Hansen's not daft. He knows that when his opportunity didn't come up in 2007, his next best chance would be at the end of this year. That would be dependent on Henry standing down, on saying he'd gone as far as he could and it was time for a new voice, for a new dynamic.

The job would have been Hansen's. No one else would have been in the running. Fellow assistant Wayne Smith doesn't want to be the head coach. He's been there, done that and put the T-shirt in the back of the wardrobe.

But Henry's not going anywhere and now Hansen has to work out whether another two years as an assistant is really what he wants.

Last year, he applied for the Crusaders head job. He wanted to double up with his All Black commitments.

That was vetoed by the board who said it wasn't realistic to believe he could do justice to both roles.

That was an indication that Hansen's feet are a little itchy - that his current role is not ticking every box. If there is a little part of him yearning for something else, can he commit to the All Blacks for another two years?

He also has to ask whether another two years as an assistant is really preparing him for his bigger goal of being a head coach. His experience is not extensive in the big chair. He had two years with Canterbury and then three as head coach of Wales.

In a 13-year professional coaching career, most of it has been spent as an assistant and if he stays where he is until 2011, it will have been more than eight years since he last had charge of any side. Yes, he will have intimate knowledge of the All Black set-up by 2011 but should that outweigh the head coaching experience of Gatland or Deans?

It's tricky for Hansen right now. Very difficult for him to walk away from Henry and Smith, two men with whom he's deeply bonded. Difficult for him to walk away from the All Blacks, to turn down the chance to make amends for 2007, especially as the bulk of the players have signed up for one last crack.

But if he wants more, he wants more and his desire for self-improvement is admirable. Hansen has told his employer what his plans are. He's not prepared to divulge them, though.

It's likely that he has explained to the NZRU that he is torn between staying on and trying to advance his career elsewhere and doesn't want to make a final commitment until later in the year.

It's just as likely the NZRU are happy with that, for now. They don't want this panel to break up. They scrapped to keep Smith last year when the Ospreys came sniffing.

Now Smith is almost certain to commit through to the World Cup. He's content where he is, knowing that post-2011, he'll be able to sit back and wait for an appropriate overseas offer to come in.

Smith has the weight of head coaching experience behind him to not feel frustrated in his current role.

Hansen doesn't. And while the NZRU are likely to make every allowance they can to entice Hansen to re-commit, they might find they don't have the ability to offer him what he really wants.