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Hansen: 'We all know where our nipples are'

All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen

New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen has welcomed World Rugby’s latest proposal to safeguard the wellbeing of players.

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The governing body is set to trial a new regulation during the Under-20 Championship in which players will not be able to make contact with opponents above their chest during a tackle, with the change aimed to reduce instances of head injuries and other types of potentially dangerous contact.

The plans have been criticised in some quarters within the game, but Hansen feels the initiative has merit. 

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“I think it’s good, I think it’s better than below the shoulder because there’s quite a lot of games where you make the tackle and it doesn’t look to be a bad tackle and yet it’s been penalised,” the All Blacks coach said.

“The clearer you can make it, the better – we all know where our nipples are, so hit below that and you’re okay.

“Is it going to solve the problems? We’re still going to get concussions because you’ve got two or three people piling into a collision and not everyone’s putting their head in the right place.”

The World Cup-winning coach also defended himself against criticism of the timing of the All Blacks’ latest training camp, which has caused some disruption to New Zealand’s Super Rugby teams. 

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“Is it ideal for everybody? No,” he said.

“But it is what it is and we have had plenty of time to plan for it, and plenty of time to understand. When you look at the [Super Rugby] results, what effect did it really have?

“We want the players to leave here invigorated and excited … we can get all ‘Sulky Sally’ about it, or we can get on with it, you know? It is just the way it is.”

New Zealand face France at Auckland’s Eden Park on June 9 in the first of three Tests, with the series also including games in Wellington and Dunedin. 

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GrahamVF 13 minutes ago
Leinster player ratings vs Northampton | 2025 Investec Champions Cup SF

Hi Rob - sorry you’re hurting so much man. Here’s the humiliating defeat I was talking about. Wasn’t at home but humiliating none the less. The fact that you latch onto the fact that it was not at home or that I misspelt a name is very telling.

Scarlets celebrated victory over leaders Leinster for the first time since December 2018 with a 35-22 United Rugby Championship victory to keep their hopes of an end-of-season play-off spot alive. It was just Leinster's second defeat of the season and a first Scarlets win over an Irish province since March 2021.26 Apr 2025.

Changing Lowe’s spelling doesn’t change the fact that he let his opposition winger in for three tries with some of the most inept defending I have seen at this level for a long time. Clearly he doesn’t understand the concept of defending space not just the man in front of you. But I’s sure a man with your knowledge of the game would have picked that up.

And as for Pendergast. He looked bewildered most of the time lumped kick after kick straight down the centre of the field with no chasers for the Saints back three to have playground romp.

Perhaps the problem with Irish rugby’s failure in knock out rugby is summed up my Leo Cullen’s statement that They imagined themselves in the final. Isn’t that what the team denied saying to the South Africans after they beat them in the WC pool?

And trolling isn’t the same as making a very pertinent comment which you might not like. I thought trolls were those creatures who lived under bridges. You should know?

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SK 1 hour ago
URC teams aren't proving Stephen Donald wrong

The URC teams play poorly in Europe and that is in part because of money. They dont have the financial power that other clubs in Europe have especially the French Clubs. They also struggle to attract international talent and build squad depth. This was the case even before the SA teams arrived. The URC is weaker than the Top 14 but so is every league. The top 14 has won the Champions cup for several years in a row now and that may not change this year either. The premiership has not provided a finalist for several years except for now. I would say the URC is on a par with the Premiership at the moment but behind the top 14. Ofcourse we are only talking about the top 8 to 10 clubs in the URC here and maybe not those all the way down to 16 however nobody can deny the strides and improvements all sides across the URC has made in the last few years. This is proven by the fact that URC clubs routinely do well in the Challenge cup even winning it last year showing the improvements in standard of the bottom clubs. For the URC its a case of improving year on year and the standards are improving and the fans know it. Thats why attendences, viewership and engagement have improved massively in the last 5 years. Comparing the URC to Super Rugby and saying the standard is much lower is folly though. SR teams do not play in Europe and cannot compare themselves to European teams. They dont play in the same conditions with the same referees or in the same context. You cannot compare. SR must look at its own failings. The reality is it is a competition propped up by players from the 2nd, 8th, 9th and below ranked teams. We are not even talking about the best players from these nations as many of them are choosing deals abroad. At the end of this years comp several NZ and Aus stars will leave and its the same every year with fewer returning. How can you call yourself the best when you dont even have the best playing in your league? SR cannot gauge its standard because it does not even compete in multinational tourneys like the Champions Cup. As far as I am concerned SR and those who punt it hard like Stephen Donald and Ben Smith are just blowing their own horn shouting as loud as they can that they are the best when in fact they are just punting a second rate regional pacific tournament that thinks way more if itself than it should.

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