RATTUE NAMED AS ALL BLACK ASSISTANT COACH

All Black senior coach Steve Hansen has named NZ Herald columnist Chris Rattue as his assistant coach for the next two years. Rattue’s appointment is a  shock to many who believed that Chiefs coach Ian Foster was a dead certainty for the position. However, it was a buoyant Steve Hansen who made the announcement this morning in front of a large press contingent.

Apparently Rattue will be in charge of media relations and take over from Hansen as HWM (Head of Whinging and Moaning), a post that Hansen had held exclusively for the last 8 years under Sir Graham Henry. Rattue has a lot of experience as HWM, a role he perfected at NZ HERALD while Graham Henry was coach of the All Blacks.

Hansen was full of praise for the NZ Herald writer who has been writing on rugby for the last 10 years. Hansen said “Rattue brings to the post a strong media background, a complete disregard for reasoned debate and the ability to talk utter nonsense. I think he will be perfect for the role.”

Hansen was quick to pour cold water on suggestions that Rattue would be out of his depth on the finer points of the game, highlighting that because he was ‘the media’ he could write what he liked and most people will believe him.

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