Steve Hansen

Birth Name: Stephen William Hansen

Place of Birth: Mosgiel, Otago, New Zealand

Date of Birth: 7 May, 1959

Ethnicity: English, Scottish, possibly other

Steve Hansen is a New Zealand rugby union coach and player. He was the head coach of New Zealand national team All Blacks, from 2012 to 2019; the team won the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He was previously assistant coach. As a player, he was a center, for Canterbury. He has also coached Canterbury, Crusaders (as an assistant), and Wales. He is a High Chief Of Vaiala, a Samoan village. It is an honorary title. He is also part owner of horse Nature Strip, which won the 2021 Everest.

Steve is the son of Lauriss (Cross) and Desmond “Des” Hansen. His parents were dairy farmers on the Taieri Plain. His son is Black Ferns assistant coach Whitney Hansen.

His surname is usually Danish and/or Norwegian, but there are also Hansens in New Zealand of English descent, formerly Hanson.

Steve’s maternal grandfather was David John Morgan Cross (the son of Joseph John Cross and Harriet Annie Stowell). David was born in Tuapeka Mouth, Clutha District, Otago, New Zealand. Joseph was the son of George Cross, who was English, from Coombeineignhead, Devon, and of Mary Lewis. Harriet was the daughter of English parents, David Stowell and Sarah Elizabeth Day, who were from Woodham Walter, Essex, and Wells, Somersetshire, respectively.

Steve’s maternal grandmother was Jessie Catherine Elizabeth McCoskery (the daughter of William Robert David McCoskery and Jessie Campbell Herbert). Jessie was born in Gore, Southland, New Zealand, and had Scottish ancestry. Steve’s great-grandmother Jessie was the daughter of William Boyes Herbert, who was from Corstorphine, Midlothian, Edinburgh, and of Catherine McGouggan.

Sources: Genealogy of Steve Hansen (focusing on his mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com

Genealogies of Steve’s maternal grandparents, David John Morgan Cross and Jessie Catherine Elizabeth McCoskery – https://www.wikitree.com