Legendary coach Steve Hansen says New Zealand rugby must come to terms with the steady flow of players heading overseas.
A number of high-profile names are set to leave at the end of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season, and the former All Blacks boss describes it as an unavoidable reality of the modern game.
“Well, we have to understand and accept that’s what could happen because it is happening. So, it’s a reality [that players are leaving],” Hansen told Martin Devlin on the DSPN Podcast.
New Zealand have already lost the services of the likes of Mark Tele’a, Tom Christie and Sam Gilbert, while Dalton Papali’i, Sevu Reece, Fehi Fineanganofo and Hoskins Sotutu are all set to leave at the end of the current domestic season.
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More players will seek out lucrative opportunities abroad after next year’s Rugby World Cup, yet a philosophical Hansen noted: “What are we going to do about it? We’ve just got to make sure that we keep developing enough players for our own market as well.”
He believes strengthening the country’s development structures is key to sustaining long-term success.
“The train will stop if we don’t keep working hard underneath it,” he said.
“There’s enough understanding to know that we probably aren’t doing as good a job down there at the moment as we could be. But they are looking at that and they will find a way.
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“Young people need to know that they’ve got a chance; otherwise, they’ll take the other chances that they’re being offered,” Hansen added.
“We’ve got to make it an environment where everyone wants to be in it, and they’ll stay and fight for it,” he said.
“It’s about making the jersey so exciting, making wanting to play for the All Blacks an exciting thing.”
Photo: Joe Allison/Getty Images
The post Hansen offers his advice on Kiwi player drain appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Legendary coach Steve Hansen says New Zealand rugby must come to terms with the steady flow of players heading overseas.
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