Former All Blacks boss Steve Hansen has signed on to help out the NRL’s Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs as a high performance consultant.

Hansen left his New Zealand post after Rugby World Cup 2019, with the All Blacks finishing third. The coach – who also works with Toyota Verblitz in Japan – led his country to the Webb Ellis trophy in 2015 and was assistant to Graham Henry when the All Blacks took the world title on home soil, in 2011.

Bulldogs Chief Executive Andrew Hill said of the latest piece of coaching recruitment: “Being able to bring Steve Hansen on board as a High Performance Consultant with the club is tremendous news for everyone associated with the Bulldogs as he is one of the most highly respected figures throughout all of sports.

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“Steve will work closely with our Coaching and Management staff, in addition to our Players Leadership Group.

“To be able to have someone with Steve’s record and background work with our staff and players will be a great asset to our club.

“He was responsible for being a major driving force behind one of the most successful sporting brands in history and his knowledge and thoughts on areas such as leadership, high performance, preparation and team ethic will be invaluable to our club as we look to create the right environment for success, on and off the field.

“Steve has already developed a relationship with Trent Barrett (Bulldogs coach), after Trent spent some time with the All Blacks in recent seasons and we believe that his knowledge and insights will be of tremendous benefit moving forward.”

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