Legendary All Blacks head coach Sir Steve Hansen is making a sensational code switch after it was announced that he is joining NRL club the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles as their new football performance director.<\/p>\n
Hansen is widely regarded as one of rugby union\u2019s best-ever coaches as he finished his stint in charge of the All Blacks with a remarkable 87 per cent winning rate, losing just 10 of 107 Tests.<\/p>\n
He was New Zealand<\/a>\u2018s head coach from 2012 to 2019, and during their triumphant 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign in England, while he also served as an assistant coach under Sir Graham Henry when the men in black won the global showpiece on home soil in 2011.<\/p>\n The 67-year-old\u2019s appointment is part of a major coaching restructure at the Sea Eagles and comes just days after they completed their 2026 NRL campaign against the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland; narrowly missing out on the competition\u2019s play-offs.<\/p>\n Hansen joins ex-New Zealand rugby league star\u2019s coaching staff<\/p>\n In June, Manly appointed former New Zealand rugby league international Kieran Foran as their new head coach on a three-year deal after he served in the position on an interim basis earlier this year.<\/p>\n Hansen<\/a> will work closely with Foran, Manly\u2019s chief executive Jason King and the club\u2019s football department, bringing an extraordinary level of experience in developing high-performance environments and winning cultures.<\/p>\n Foran said he is excited by the opportunity to work alongside Hansen.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have someone of Steve Hansen\u2019s experience, knowledge and proven record of building winning cultures joining our football department is a massive opportunity for this club,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI have enormous respect for Steve and what he has achieved. He is one of the greatest sporting minds of his generation, and I am incredibly excited to work with him and learn from him.\u201d<\/p>\n All Blacks team: Five takeaways including Richie Mo\u2019unga\u2019s fresh start while Dave Rennie reacts to \u2018failing set-piece\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Hansen spent a brief time with the Wallabies as an advisor ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, before joining Japanese outfit Toyota Verblitz as a consultant.<\/p>\n