Steve Hansen has hit out at the spectators who booed the world’s most capped player, Richie McCaw, during the All Blacks’ opening 26-16 win over Argentina in front of a record World Cup crowd of almost 90,000 at Wembley.
The All Blacks’ captain was sent to the sin-bin for tripping the flanker Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe in the first half and was also loudly jeered during the post-game interviews. “It’s normal over here,” said the New Zealand coach, suggesting the fans’ reaction had been out of order. “We take it for what it is: a lack of respect against a great player. If you’re no good, nobody cares. You don’t get booed unless you’re any good.”
Hansen did concede the decisions to bin McCaw and Conrad Smith had been correct and described his captain’s trip as a “brain explosion” and “dumb”. It was only the third time McCaw has been yellow carded in 143 internationals and the flanker accepted he had placed unnecessary strain on his team-mates. “As soon as it happens you wish it hadn’t happened. I knew straight away. It was a reflex thing but it wasn’t the right thing to do. It put the team under pressure.”
Despite being reduced to 13 men for a short period, the world champions grew in assurance as the game went on and wore down their troublesome opponents. Hansen has warned other teams to beware Argentina in the tournament’s latter stages. “The Pumas are going to be a threat in this tournament,” he said. “They’re smart around the contact area. If they keep playing like that, they’re going to cause teams some distress.”
He also suggested South Africa should not be completely dismissed despite their sensational 34-32 defeat by Japan in their opening match. “I wouldn’t write off South Africa either. They’ll learn from it and come back stronger.”
