| Hanks not fazed by Wasps' poor start The director of rugby is confident his work ethic can inspire Wasps as they seek a first win of the season against LeicesterTony Hanks used to run a supermarket in his native New Zealand. There have been moments lately when his old day job felt more fun than managing a Premiership club. If one more person asks him one more question about Gavin Henson signing for Wasps there could be an uncharacteristic eruption. Hanks is normally unfailingly polite but, with a big game against Leicester to win this afternoon, his patience is starting to fray.It has not helped that Wasps are still looking for a first league win, having contrived to lose 29-17 to Newcastle last Friday after leading 17-3. Nor are the old familiar big names – such as Dallaglio, Gatland, McGeechan or Lewsey – still around to help the club punch above their weight. Their charisma also papered over other cracks. Even when the household names were available, no would-be newcomer would ever describe Wasps' Acton facilities as come-hither. Had the intensively groomed Henson checked out the training ground toilets this week he would have run screaming back to Wales without a backward glance.All of which leaves Hanks trying to perform a tricky balancing act in an increasingly precarious Premiership environment. What irritated the 39-year-old Kiwi most about last week's inaccurate Henson report was the grossly inflated sum Wasps were supposed to be offering. "I just couldn't believe it," he says. "Some of the numbers ... we just don't do that. We've got a reputation for rehabilitating people, so if there's anyone like that we'll get a phone call. But we've got a salary cap ... we can't just whistle people up."Yesterday's announcement from the Ospreys that they will now "listen to offers" for Henson is, therefore, largely academic. If Wasps do sign the Strictly Come Dancing contestant, having virtually sworn in blood to the contrary, it could alienate existing members of the squad. There are certain players whom Hanks would dearly love to turn up on his doorstep seeking redemption – "I hope Richie McCaw goes off the rails a bit" – but the club remains adamant that Henson will not be one of them.Maybe it would be different if Wasps had not just lived through the wearisome distractions of the Danny Cipriani circus. Coming from a country where real rugby celebrity is only grudgingly bestowed, Hanks still cannot quite hide his bemusement. "I was amazed at the attention he got. Whether it was connected to the Jonny Wilkinson thing, I don't know. Jonny was huge, Jonny was England rugby and all of a sudden he wasn't there. Who was going to be the new Jonny? Suddenly, here's a kid with oodles of talent who comes in to fill the gap. New Zealand is a bit smaller but I like to think you get judged on your rugby first."That is not to say Hanks would not welcome Cipriani back whenever his stint at the Melbourne Rebels ends. A more mature, wiser playmaker, at a sensible price, would save the club a lot of hassle. "I see it as a sabbatical ... let's hope it's a positive experience and Danny comes back to England – and, hopefully, Wasps – as a better player." In the meantime, though, it is up to Hanks and Shaun Edwards to coax better results from a team whose influential forwards – Simon Shaw, Phil Vickery, Joe Worsley – are not getting any younger.In their two league outings so far they have conceded 29 points and made an untypical rash of errors, not least at restarts. "If you start looking at the table now you could panic," Hanks says. "We're 11th and the danger is that you start playing like it. But we don't think we're playing that poorly ... if you look at it the other way, we're only seven points off the top. Shaun and I have been in a lot worse. There's no panic."Hanks accepts this is a crucial season for him personally. Almost alone among the New Zealand coaches recruited as Premiership heavy hitters down the years, he did not come close to a Test cap. He was a versatile fly-half with the Suburbs club in Auckland but found his path blocked by John Carter, a New Zealand colt who was Grant Fox's Auckland understudy. He gave up the unequal struggle at the age of 24: "You like to think it was an injury that stopped you playing. In my case, it wasn't. I just wasn't good enough."Coaching, though, had interested him right from his schooldays – "Where I lacked in skill or talent, I made up for with talk" – at Mount Albert grammar school. He became a coaching coordinator and learned much from the former All Black centre Bruce Robertson at the Auckland academy before "coming over to England chasing my partner". Through his good friend Craig Dowd he was introduced to Warren Gatland in 2002. "Gats had no one to do video analysis and asked me if I wanted to do it. My CV was pretty good but then you walk out and there's Lawrence Dallaglio and Rob Howley and Craig Dowd. You think: 'Hello, I've got to earn my respect here.'"He was subsequently promoted to assistant coach and was heavily involved in Wasps' glory years before leaving in 2005. He worked as skills coach for the Junior All Blacks and eventually took over Gatland's role as Waikato's head coach in 2008. Last year, with Ian McGeechan busy on Lions business, Wasps came calling again. "I've always seen myself as a good example for coaches going through their badges and doing their time. Quite often it is the famous ex-player who gets the job. It's even more prevalent in New Zealand."Hanks, though, is clearly a grafter. As well as flogging groceries – "I always have a keen eye when I go to the supermarket in terms of how it has been set out" – he worked for a construction company and managed a commercial cleaning firm. "You'll always be limited by your knowledge or your experience but you're not limited by your work ethic. The players will always back someone they see working hard. The guys have also got to be confident that, when the shit hits the proverbial, you'll front up and lead."It is a nice, succinct definition of a director of rugby's life. Beat Leicester today and the Henson saga, not to mention the non-functioning urinals of Acton, will cease to matter.London WaspsPremiershipRugby unionRobert Kitsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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