All Blacks coach Steve Hansen

All Blacks coach salutes Silver Ferns counterpart

The All Blacks arrived back from Argentina in time to see the end of the netball final against Australia.

Hansen says they were all genuinely excited and proud of what the Ferns achieved and in particular the journey coach Noeline Taurua has taken.

Tietjens looking for 'excuses'

In his new book Legacy, Tietjens accuses Hansen and All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster, along with New Zealand Rugby boss Steve Tew, of not giving him the support he needed to lure the likes of Ben Smith, Ardie Savea and Beauden Barrett across to the national sevens team for the Rio campaign.

New Zealand failed miserably at the Olympics after they were knocked out by Fiji at the quarterfinal stage.

Tietjens questioned the governing body's leadership in a year when it publicly stated Olympic gold for both the men's and women's teams were dual priorities.

Hansen hits back at Gatland

Gatland was unhappy following Saturday's 30-15 loss in Auckland, concerned over the treatment of Lions scrum-half Murray against the world champions.

The Lions head coach felt Murray was unfairly targeted at Eden Park as he expressed his concerns to the match officials, and Hansen returned fire on Monday, making for a fierce clash in Wellington on Saturday.

"It's predictable comments from Gatland, isn't it? Two weeks ago we cheated in the scrums and last week it was blocking and now he's saying this," Hansen told Radio Sport.

Hansen happy to draw Springboks

The All Blacks on Wednesday discovered they will come up against the Springboks, Italy and two qualifiers at the showpiece event in Japan in two years' time.

New Zealand beat South Africa 20-18 at the semi-final stage of the last World Cup in England, before going on to retain the Webb Ellis Cup with a win over Australia.

Hansen is braced for a tough Pool B, but knows his defending champions will have to beat the best teams on the planet if they are to win the tournament for a third time in succession.