Steve Hansen - Win, lose or more?

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Scanning selectively through the back pages of the Sydney Morning Herald, waiting for my never perfect porridge to reach a mouth eligible temperature, is a well established part of my daily routine. The subsequent norm is to tuck into the day's rugby headlines, whilst heavily exhaling, an act that I believe will cool my mouth from a breakfast that is inevitably still too hot for consumption.

On Monday morning there was a minor divergence, the literary intake was an Aussie Rules piece. The article focused on the plight of Brisbane Lions' coach, Justin Leppitsch. The previous day, Coach Leppitsch's Lions, had defeated the Essendon Bombers in a basement battle. A victory, which preserved, Leppitsch's employment or so the author reliably informed me. 

Had the article gone on to analyse the technicalities of what makes a successful AFL coach, I would have ditched it. It didn't. Instead it took a far more compelling, macro level view, of the key performance indicators against which a coach is measured. In particular, win percentage. A figure that is often viewed in isolation, to determine a coach's performance, despite the range of variables that sit behind the statistic.

Later that day I read a tweet heralding the success of re appointed All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, with particular reference to his win record. Hansen's reign as Head Coach of the All Blacks has yielded 52 victories from 57 games. A win percentage of 91%, and of course a Webb Ellis Cup, the cherry on top. Impressive numbers, but I couldn't help read them in context of the article I had read over breakfast. Reluctantly, I forced my mind back to Hansen's time as Head Coach of Wales. A grand total of 10 wins from 29 matches, including an infamous 11 match losing streak and a Six Nations Wooden Spoon. A win percentage of 34%, not pretty. A record that looks worse should you choose to lookup Wales' opponents in the ten victories. 

If Hansen had walked away from the game at that point, the armchair punter would have concluded that he wasn't much cop as a coach. A judgement that would have been compounded by Wales' Grand Slam winning season under Mike Ruddock, just a year after Hansen departed for a role with the Canterbury Crusaders. However, when you are exposed to  the opinion of those involved in Wales' inner sanctum during those dark days, the ex policeman and current High Chief of Vaiala (Samoan village), is portrayed as having a significant influence over Wales' development and subsequent success. The majority opinion of those involved would seem to be that he took over a team that was ambling into the professional era, and impressed on them the skill set, fitness level and attitude required to compete internationally.  

As a performance indicator, win percentage can be misleading. A lazy statistic, allowing those on the outside to pass judgement without really thinking, exploring and understanding. I'm not for a second undermining the importance of victory as a measure of success in elite sport. It will always be the barometer. However, I would have to agree with the SMH journo, that when judging the ability of a coach, we must do so more meticulously and in the context of the environment within which they operate. 

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