Hansen: Rugby becoming boring

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen fears that rugby is becoming boring after watching the Six Nations over the weekend.

Hansen is currently over in Europe on a fact-finding mission ahead of the World Cup later this year and was in attendance at the matches in Paris and Dublin this past weekend.

Only three tries were scored in 160 minutes of rugby, and Hansen has voiced his concerns about the current state of the game.

'I've actually got big concerns about the game at the moment, because there are not enough tries being scored, which is turning the fans away,' said Hansen in an interview with WalesOnline.co.uk. 'I think there's a responsibility on the coaches and the players as well. We are trying to get defensive lines up really quickly, but I think we've probably gone too far with it.

'There's a responsibility to the game. If we don't do that, then we are not going to have any running rugby.

'There were only three tries scored in the two games I went to over the weekend. No one is prepared to take the risk, because they are going to get belted behind the advantage line if they move the ball.

'If we want to encourage people to watch the game, then scoring tries is what does that. If we don't address it, then we are going to get very boring rugby matches.'

Hansen went on to say that fans are in danger of being turned off the sport, and called for stricter enforcement at the breakdown where he argues the ball is slowed down too much by players in offside positions.

Read the full interview here

Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images