Last updated 21:21, April 24 2018
The All Blacks coach was full of praise for the young Chiefs halfback, but didn’t attempt to pronounce his name.
Famed sports broadcaster Keith Quinn has pulled up All Blacks coach Steve Hansen for not attempting to pronounce the name of promising halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi.
At a televised press conference on Monday, Hansen was asked about Tahuriorangi, who attended the All Blacks' training session in Wellington after impressing for the Chiefs in their Super Rugby campaign so far this season.
He smiled and said "It's a lot easier to say Triple T."
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi attended the All Blacks' training session in Wellington after impressing for the Chiefs.
It was at the same press conference that Hansen spoke favourably of halfback TJ Perenara's decision to oppose Wallabies star Israel Folau's comments on homosexuality.
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But veteran rugby commentator Quinn was apparently not impressed by the non-attempt at pronouncing Tahuriorangi's name.
Memo to Steve Hansen: if you're going to include Te Toiroa Tahuiorangi in your All Black plans it's not acceptable to just call him 'Triple T' as you did on TV tonight. As you tell your teams before a test: 'practice, practice, practice!'
— Keith Quinn (@KeithQuinn88) April 23, 2018
"Memo to Steve Hansen: if you're going to include Te Toiroa Tahuiorangi in your All Black plans it's not acceptable to just call him 'Triple T' as you did on TV tonight. As you tell your teams before a test: 'practice, practice, practice."
Unfortunately, Quinn misspelled Tahuriorangi's surname in his tweet, an error not missed in the Twitter world, where there was support and opposition for Hansen - and Quinn.
There’s no excuse nowadays. Te reo isn’t that bloody hard. Te (as in ten) Toi (as in toy) roa (as in roar) Ta (tah) hu (who) ri (ree) o (or) ra (rah) ngi (ngee). i mean you can pronounce Horatio Fauntleroy Hornblower eh? just show some respect and practice the name for goddsake.
— Manfred Blackadder (@PlainsHawke) April 23, 2018
"There's no excuse nowadays. Te reo isn't that bloody hard. Te (as in ten) Toi (as in toy) roa (as in roar) Ta (tah) hu (who) ri (ree) o (or) ra (rah) ngi (ngee). i mean you can pronounce Horatio Fauntleroy Hornblower eh? just show some respect and practice the name for goddsake," tweeted Manfred Blackadder.
While some suggested Quinn should lighten up, other said he was right to pull up Hansen on the matter.
No he doesn’t have to lighten up about this at all. Maori names and any names for that matter including yours shouldn’t been joked about
— Renee Ritete (@ReneeRitete) April 23, 2018
One poster suggested the promising rugby player called himself Triple T and was comfortable about others calling him it.
Te Toiroa calls himself ‘Triple T’ it has been his nickname for a long time. If anything Shag was just trying to make him feel more comfortable by being less formal. No different to calling Aaron Smith ‘Nugget’ - that doesn’t seem to upset maori?
— Nick Birchfield (@NickBirchfield) April 23, 2018
100% agree Keith. The bloody irony of the interview was, he was also supporting TJ advocating for young people fighting for their identities!
— Robyn Morete (@robynmorete) April 23, 2018
And what did Hansen say about Tahuriorangi? "He's playing well and he's a lovely passer of the ball, he's a got a running game, so we just felt we would like to see a little more of him," Hansen said.
Keith Quinn says Steve Hansen should practise pronouncing Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi's name.
Tahuriorangi was one of a number of promising players attending the All Blacks' so-called "foundation day" session. Hansen reckoned the get-together was about "95 per cent talking and about 5 per cent doing" and that included discussions about social media.
He praised Perenara for tweeting in opposition to Folau's comment about homosexuals going to Hell if they did not repent their sins.
"In TJ's case I was really proud of him. What he did tweet was on the money," Hansen said.
"You're a good human being, regardless of whether you're a gay person, a straight person. Quite frankly we don't care [within the All Blacks] and I don't care personally myself either.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has come under fire for taking a shortcut with Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi's name.
"But I thought he tweeted well, his words were good. He gave a strong message to those young people in the circumstance where they could be fighting and worrying about their own identities and, again, I said I was proud of him and I stick by that."
Later on Monday night, New Zealand Rugby released a promotional video on their diversity and inclusion campaign, featuring both the All Blacks and Black Ferns.