Sir Steve Hansen, the former All Blacks Coach and current Head Coach of Toyota Verblitz joins us on Jandals in Japan and we were thrilled when he shared his favorite treat from a Japanese convenience store on treat night! We also dive into his experience in Japan and insights into coaching and team dynamics here, his deep respect for Japanese culture while making changes and questioning norms to take the Toyota Verblitz to the next level.
If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Steve Hansen's coaching philosophy this is the episode for you.
Subscribe to our list so you never miss an episode of Jandals in Japan
If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we’d love it if you would come and say hi (or Kia Ora or Konnichi Wa!) over on @jandalsinjapan on Instagram.
In this episode you’ll hear:
- Steve’s early years on a dairy farm to a family run pub and what it taught him about people
- The importance of flexibility, communication, and positive reinforcement in fostering a high-performance team
- The challenges of integrating multinational players and the significance of mentoring
- The future of rugby in Japan and improvements that would transform the competition
- Unexpected mentors in shaping Steve’s journey
About Steve
Sir Steve Hansen is the Head Coach of the Toyota Verblitz Rugby Team. He was a former New Zealand rugby union coach and a former player. He famously led the All Blacks to victory during the 2015 Rugby World Cup as their head coach, a role that he held from 2012 to 2019. He built the All Blacks in this era to be not only the world’s most successful rugby team but also the most successful sports team at the time.
Steve was born in Mosgeil to dairy farming parents who had a farm on the Taieri Plain. He did his secondary school education and Christchurch Boys’ High School and spent six years in the New Zealand Police working at the Hornby Police Station. He played centre in rugby union representing Canterbury at first-class level on 21 occasions.
He began his coaching career with the Canterbury provincial rugby union team from 1996 to 2001, coached the Wales National Team, then returned to New Zealand as assistant coach for the All Blacks, rising to Coach of the team in 2012.
Steve ventured to Japan in 2020 to take up his assignment with Toyota Verblitz in coaching consultant for Top League side Toyota Verblitz serving as an advisor and mentor and was appointed Head Coach in 2024.
Steve became Sir Steve Hansen after being awarded a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby in the New Year’s Honours list in 2020.
Jandals in Japan is brought to you by Catherine O’Connell Law and PodLaunch with Jayne
Links:
Japan Rugby Weekly Podcast: https://redcircle.com/shows/japan-rugby-weekly
Connect with Jayne and Catherine
Linked In:
