From the day he walked into the All Blacks environment until the day he steps down, Steve Hansen has helped defend the Bledisloe Cup for 15 years straight.
And while the humble coach played down last night's emphatic 36-0 win against the Wallabies being his 100th Test as the All Blacks' head coach, Hansen did admit he was happy to keep the Bledisloe locked away.
"It's massive," Hansen said post match when asked about the personal achievement.
"As we've talked about for many years now, outside of the World Cup it's the most important trophy we have and we seem to have this thing in World Cup years where we come to that final game where we have to win it."
The All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup with a 36-0 win over Australia at Eden Park.
The Bledisloe Cup was on the line last night after the All Blacks were handed a hefty 47-26 loss to the Wallabies in Perth last week but some pivotal changes to the squad breathed new life into the team and they denied the Wallabies yet again.
It means Hansen, who steps down as All Blacks head coach after this year's World Cup, will have defended the Bledisloe Cup since joining the team in 2004 as Sir Graham Henry's assistant.
That fact delights Hansen.
"It's just a nice feeling to be able to say, 'well, not on my watch'."
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