Former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen has revealed a common hobby he and Queen Elizabeth II were able to discuss on multiple occasions as he joined the rest of the world in remembering the late monarch.
Following the Queen's death Friday morning, Hansen spoke to 1News from his home in Japan having met Her Majesty multiple times throughout his rugby career.
"I met her three times - twice at the palace and once at a function for the World Cup in 2015," Hansen recalled.
"[The meetings] were all serious and proper and ceremony but when she arrived on the scene in the big room, all of that went away and it was a relaxing time."
During those meetings, Hansen said he and the team would be divided into small groups and each spend a short amount of time with the monarch as she made her way around the room.
Despite the large number of people she was greeting, Hansen said she managed to strike up good conversations through personal questions.
"She was always wonderful to talk to - she could talk about anything but the surprising thing was she did her homework about things you were interested in.
"We had a common theme in horse racing so she would mention about how the horses were going and that sort of thing and while it was a brief conversation, it made you feel like she cared.
"She had a really good touch about her. She was just a wonderful human being."
Hansen added the All Blacks had a strong relationship with the Queen during his tenure and the side was always on their "best behaviour" around her - "pranksters" included.
"She had a soft spot for New Zealanders and I think the All Blacks were part of that," he said.
"She was just a lady who cared about doing the right thing."
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