Hansen (left) insists he is happy in a supporting role alongside All Blacks coach Graham Henry © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Steve Hansen | Sir Graham Henry

Tournaments/Tours: Rugby World Cup | Tri Nations

Teams: New Zealand

All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen has played down reports of discontent insisting he is happy to continue to work alongside Graham Henry.

Hansen and fellow-assistant Wayne Smith will support head coach Henry through to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, following an announcement yesterday that the trio's contracts had been extended by two more years.

Following the All Blacks' shock exit in the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals at the hands of France there was much speculation that Henry would hold the reins for only two years while grooming Hansen for the role. However, former Welsh head coach Hansen was evasive when asked if he had hopes of stepping up to the top job.

"I've never been given the opportunity to be the head coach so it's not an issue," Hansen told NZPA. "The issue is `am I happy to be in this coaching team and to do the role that I do?' The answer is yes.

"I enjoy coaching with both Wayne and Graham and I love the All Blacks. There's no greater job in New Zealand if you're into your rugby. There's no greater job in the world really."

Hansen said the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) offer to extend the trio's contracts arrived before he truly had a chance to consider his options beyond this year. He believed the All Blacks' chance of success at the next World Cup was best served by retaining the same coaching team and didn't want to be the one to break up the combination.

"There's always interest overseas. There's always jobs coming up and people asking if you're interested," he said. "But at this stage, the best thing for New Zealand rugby is to stay working with these guys rather than me go off somewhere and be a head coach. It's a decision I took some time to think about but it's one I'm happy to have made."

Last year Hansen sought permission from the NZRU to pursue the Crusaders' head coaching role made vacant by Robbie Deans. However, the NZRU declined his request, ruling he couldn't do justice to his All Blacks' role simultaneously.

Hansen accepted the decision although he still believed there should be scope for an All Blacks' assistant to enhance his coaching skills on a different stage.

"In theory, that's probably correct but when do you get the opportunity?" he said. "It would be nice if you could drop down and work with the Junior All Blacks but that programme's at the same time as the June tests. Practically it just doesn't seem to work."

Hansen said he and Smith were granted enough coaching time by Henry to make the assistant roles satisfying. They also had a strong voice at the selection and tactics tables. A regular critic of the New Zealand media's reporting of the All Blacks, Hansen said it wasn't enough to deter him from extending his role.

"You know what's going to happen when you take on this job but it doesn't necessarily make it right," he said. "If you listen to all the so-called expert opinion then it would drive you nuts. But the external expectations are nowhere near as high as the internal ones."

In related news, NZRU chairman Jock Hobbs has revealed the reappointment of the All Blacks' coaches was fast-tracked for fear they would otherwise be lured overseas.

"That was a factor in us going earlier to this exercise rather than later," Hobbs said. "Individually, of course, they have their strengths but we think as a group they are a very powerful coaching unit and we did not want to lose one of them. It is a reflection of the high regard we hold them in and the confidence that we have in them."