Rugby: Hansen sends World Cup warning

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says he's proud of the way his team kept their nerve in tight tests during the year. Photo / Getty Images

All Blacks have 20 per cent improvement in them, says coach after stellar year.

All Black coach Steve Hansen believes his side can improve by 20 per cent as they seek to be the first to win back-to-back World Cups.

Hansen, fresh from winning his third consecutive coach of the year title at the New Zealand rugby awards in Auckland on Thursday night, said an improvement in decision-making alongside the skill levels they have reached would make the All Blacks a more complete team.

Under Hansen's three-year reign as head coach, the All Blacks have played 42, won 38, drawn two and lost two.

"I still think there's a good 20 per cent improvement [left]," Hansen said. "We talk a lot about our skill execution and we've worked hard over the last three years on that. We're probably now moving to the stage of combining skill execution with making better decisions. If we do that well, we'll put teams under a lot of pressure."

Hansen, who will take a break over Christmas with his family and start work again in February, is, like skipper Richie McCaw, focusing on the opportunity that the looming World Cup represents, rather than the pressure.

It is an attitude the team adopted in 2011 when trying to cope with the scrutiny of playing in a World Cup at home and the results suggest it was successful, albeit by the smallest of margins in the 8-7 victory in the final over France.

McCaw, who accepted the All Blacks' Team of the Year award on Thursday, said he was excited about the challenge. "When you get to my age, you don't know how many more [years of playing] you've got," he said. "The fact that you can still do it and with the World Cup ... hopefully the body stays together in Super Rugby and I get a good crack at that. I want to make the most of it."

McCaw said he would be available for the Crusaders' first game of the season on February 13.

Hansen said: "We're in good shape to have a crack at something no one has done before. What better challenge can you have?"

Part of Hansen's optimism comes from not only the team's No1 world ranking, which they have held for five years, but also the mental strength they gained this year in winning tight tests at the death.

The All Blacks fought back to beat England in two tests in June, battled to a draw with Australia in Sydney, held on against the Springboks in Wellington, almost stole a test against the Boks in Johannesburg, came back at the death against the Wallabies in Brisbane, and kept their nerve in three tough tests on their Northern tour against England, Scotland and Wales.

"Most teams wouldn't do that as often as we've done it," Hansen said.

"They might do it once or twice but we had to do it four or five times. It was a really pleasing year from my point of view [because] we didn't win all the games comfortably, we had to work hard for them. The group who played against Scotland - a bunch of young men, with Richie really the only senior player along with Dan [Carter] for half the game at least - they had to find a way to do it themselves.

"Watching them do it was really pleasing because we know we've got a mental strength now, we know teams know that they have to play for 80 minutes against us."