\u201cThe coach would probably tell you, centre back and I\u2019d say midfield; every now and again, striker. But that was in an era where they sort of didn\u2019t move too much at the end, right?\u201d Hansen quips, her delivery dry as the Canterbury Plains.<\/p>\n
Her story is a familiar one to many women in rugby: growing up in another code before being convinced by a mate to come to a rugby training in her early 20s. Hansen ended up playing 100 games for the Canterbury University side and a handful of seasons for the Canterbury FPC team. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was very much a player coach at the end of it, but at the beginning I was just a player-learner.\u201d says Hansen. <\/p>\n
Whitney Hansen: “We have a real opportunity to be courageous and look at some young talent.” Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Luckily her club was full of legends. Black Ferns flanker Olivia Coady and lock Kim Smith were among those who took the No 8 under their wing. When she eventually hung up her boots in 2018, it was another Black Fern that gave Hansen a proper push into coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had some amazing coach educators around at the time: Jimmy Sinclair and Blaire Baxter. They\u2019d come out and see me do some coaching, and I knew that they had my back to support around all the things that I didn\u2019t have. But to be honest, the biggest influence on that was Kenj.\u201d<\/p>\n
The endorsement of the Black Ferns stalwart, Kenj \u2013 aka Kendra Cocksedge \u2013 was the vote of confidence that Hansen needed. She took on the Canterbury under 18-girls team in 2018 and a year later was already knocking on the door of high performance when she joined the Black Ferns development team. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we went over to that Oceania tournament, we had a Black Ferns assistant with us. So it was kind of like a co-coaching mentality,\u201d explains Hansen. \u201cIt was a safe space to grow, but then also a space to be able to go \u2018you can do this\u2019, which was hugely powerful on my journey.\u201d <\/p>\n
This is the part where Hansen\u2019s story diverts from what has been the traditional experience of women in coaching. The 32-year gap between women leading the Black Ferns highlights the opportunity chasm that has existed for many other ambitious coaches. Bridging this has taken targeted intervention, programmes like New Zealand Rugby\u2019s Ako W\u0101hine, Sport New Zealand\u2019s Te H\u0101paitanga and World Rugby\u2019s Internship programme, which was tied to the target of 40% women coaches at Rugby World Cup 2025. <\/p>\n
All of these programmes Hansen went through but unfortunately Ako W\u0101hine has since been repurposed to target level-1 coaches and New Zealand Rugby opted out of the internship scheme at the past World Cup. <\/p>\n
At the same time though, new rungs have been added to the high-performance ladder putting new opportunities within reach. The U18 New Zealand camps led to a North v South match last year, the Black Ferns XV side is now firmly established and there are rumours of an emerging under-20s scene. <\/p>\n
As the ground continues to shift, Hansen knows she has a role to play in developing the next wave of coaches. <\/p>\n
Whitney Hansen coaching as part of the Kia Manawanui programme. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst and foremost, my role is to make sure that this team and our people go well, right?\u201d says Hansen, \u201cBut something that I\u2019m exceptionally passionate about is sending the elevator back down.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hansen is just getting started but the clock is already ticking. Her contract is up at the end of 2027, half-time in this World Cup cycle. At that point, NZR will make the call on reappointment, but first up she\u2019s already facing a big challenge: preparing the Black Ferns for the Pacific Four Series (PAC4) with the majority of the team having not played since last year\u2019s World Cup. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a piece here around the structure of the calendar changing but it\u2019s also the athlete that\u2019s in front of us that\u2019s changing,\u201d says Hansen. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn this first six months and in this journey into PAC4, we have a real opportunity to be courageous and look at some young talent. It\u2019s not going to be hard and fast, \u2018that\u2019s who we take to 2029\u2032, but I think we will have a really clear picture going into 2027 that we would have tried some things.\u201d <\/p>\n
For Hansen though, it\u2019s not about starting from scratch as she believes that some of the rugby played at the last World Cup was \u201cactually pretty epic\u201d. Her difference in opinion is perhaps most clearly defined in the role that DNA plays in the team. It was a term we heard a lot during last year\u2019s campaign and it\u2019s a word that Hansen is wary of. <\/p>\n
Whitney Hansen in her playing days taking on Bay of Plenty’s Tamia Dinsdale. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I will say about DNA is it\u2019s a funny word that we use sometimes. Great when you talk about standards, habits and things that we want to keep the same.\u201d explains Hansen, \u201cDNA is also a dangerous word, because fundamentally, DNA doesn\u2019t change.\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear Hansen wants to bring change to the Black Ferns. She\u2019s at her most animated as she talks about her plans for the rugby itself. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give you the high level and then you can wait to PAC4 for the rest,\u201d she laughs. <\/p>\n
Hansen is ready to hit the ground running with a four-point plan for her Black Ferns team. The first is a reflection of where the game has grown internationally combined with what we do best.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be unpredictable. We\u2019ve got to have different systems that we use because the international women\u2019s games evolved. So we can\u2019t have one type of way of playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with the results of last year, this was the corner England painted themselves into in 2022. Hansen wants to learn from these examples. To be able to change the game plan, we need to build on the type of rugby players we proudly grow here in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a piece here around being physically dominant. We have a type of athlete in New Zealand that the rest of the world doesn\u2019t produce. So we lean on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Young players take part in the Kia Manawanui Coaching Programme. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
That\u2019s all well and good, but to keep pace with rivals in England and Canada, Hansen needs us to level up from here by making full use of the professionalism Black Ferns XVs players now enjoy and replicating the grit the Sevens sisters are known for.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing relentless is something that probably every team chases, but is going to be massive for us. It\u2019s the ability to go for a repeat effort. If we\u2019re great, can we be great again?\u201d <\/p>\n
That\u2019s the piece that was missing from last year\u2019s World Cup. Too often brilliance was followed by a brain fart, which is why the next point is obvious. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd last, we want to be clinical.\u201d Still a primary school teacher by trade, Hansen is quick to elaborate. \u201cIf we unpack that word, because it gets chucked around a lot, what it\u2019s going to mean for us is when it counts and when we\u2019re under pressure, 90% of the time we execute what we\u2019re trying to do.\u201d <\/p>\n
All of this will be music to Black Ferns fans ears. The trouble for Hansen is the role of an international women\u2019s rugby coach currently extends far beyond the team. The feeders to international sides are still in flux as they continue to develop. So, a close eye on this evolving landscape is vital. <\/p>\n
As Dombroski noted though, this is Hansen\u2019s advantage. She\u2019s walked the path to the top job through every part of the game. She\u2019s clear on what the system needs and more specifically, what it needs from her. <\/p>\n
\u201cThose systems are in their infancy. So it\u2019s supporting those to become really robust. We need people-proof systems in there, rather than [relying] on amazing people doing a good job of it.\u201d says Hansen. \u201cFrom my perspective, how do I influence that role? Making sure they are clear on what it is we\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hansen knows what a Black Fern in her team needs to be. This is tied to what she believes this team could be. It\u2019s here that Hansen articulates the vision that captures the type of ambition that may get our team back on top. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Black Ferns are more than a team. It\u2019s beyond a brand. It\u2019s a way of being and it\u2019s something to aspire to.\u201d says Hansen, climbing onto her soapbox. \u201cWhen we talk about what that looks like and where we want to go, it\u2019s world-leading and it\u2019s something that stands alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe standalone piece is really important to me and I know it\u2019s something I\u2019ve got real support from NZR around. This team has a unique whakapapa and legacy. It has amazing stories to tell and we have some amazing people that tell them. So let\u2019s own the narrative. Let\u2019s tell that story. Let\u2019s not just be another team in black \u2013 we\u2019re the Black Ferns.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hansen\u2019s not just talking rugby now, she\u2019s talking about the wider sporting world and our place in it. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone out there, not just New Zealand, but the world that looks at and goes women\u2019s sport, look at that team, how cool is that?\u201d <\/p>\n