WALES coach Steve Hansen heads for New Zealand today not, as had been suggested he might, having collected his P45 from WRU chief David Moffett in Australia.

Hansen instead flies home to visit his two daughters and for a well earned rest.

When he returns to Wales, it should surely be in the guise of a conquering hero for, in the course of two stupendous World Cup matches in Sydney and Brisbane against the best in the business, he has transformed Welsh rugby, given hope to a nation where there was none, re-invented the Welsh wheel and restored pride and respect.

A huge accolade maybe, but Hansen surely deserves all the praise that is being heaped upon him. It's the players who go out and perform, of course, but it's Hansen who has plotted the course.

Just look at the situation not so long ago. Wales were in the depths of despair, losing an unprecedented eleven games in a row, heading downhill at a rate of knots.

Hansen's record was truly appaling, his only victories being against teams like Romania, Canada and Fiji. Wales even lost for the first time to Italy and took the Six Nations wooden spoon, whitewashed in the process.

There were calls for his head, understandably so after such a record. There was no sign of any improvement and the first two August internationals ended in defeat against Ireland and an England second team.

Hansen's very survival was in jeopardy and had defeat followed against Scotland, he could well have been sacked.

Come the World Cup and the opener against Canada produced some sparkle at last, though almost entirely in the shape of one man, Iestyn Harris. Against Tonga, though, Wales reverted to type and though they won, it was mediocre to say the least.

Once again Hansen's job was on the line going into the crucial Italy game, but Wales came through well, scoring three tries in a comfortable victory, though there was no indication of the fireworks to come.

New Zealand were next in the final group match, a team Wales had crashed to by a record margin in June. Many feared another drubbing.

But almost out of nowhere, Wales produced a stunning performance, leading the All Blacks after an hour, scoring four spectacular tries and registering their highest score against them.

The All Blacks eventually won 53-37, but the bonfire had been lit, the rugby world had been shocked and the fans flew out to Australia to support the team against public enemy number one.

Where had the Welsh performance come from and could they do it again? Those were two of the more obvious questions going into the England game.

Basically, no Welsh fan or pundit wanted a hiding. But, on the night, it was England who almost got it as Wales produced more magic, more brilliance, again leading one of the world's top two teams, silencing the thousands of white-jerseyed fans and stunning the England team.

They led at half-time and scored three tries to one. We were almost on our way to Sydney and the World Cup semi-finals. But England and the boot of Jonny Wilkinson prevailed in the end.

However, Wales had restored pride and given the country back its self-respect after decades of rugby misery. For that, Hansen deserves a great deal of credit - for he had a plan all along.

That plan involved getting the players in the right frame of mind mentally and then adding conditioning through fitness chief Andrew Hore.

He really put them through their paces with the necessary physicality, an area where rival countries had stolen a huge march.

The snag was that it meant going ahead with the plan right through the August internationals, games Hansen didn't really want.

It put his job on the line because continuing defeats meant his position was insecure to say the least. But he persisted, believing he was on the right course.

He was not prepared to countenance any change to his plans and there was one final piece in the jigsaw, getting Wales to play with true expression.

It is supremely ironic that a New Zealand coach, an Australian skills coach, Scott Johnson, and a New Zealand fitness chief have had to do all this.

The expression came almost at the death in those final two crackerjack games.

The result is a major leap forward in Welsh performance, and they alone of the UK countries have made real progress in this World Cup. Who would have thought that even a short while ago?

I, for one, admit I have changed my mind about Hansen and his Southern Hemisphere henchmen.

Obviously there is more to do, it's only the beginning, but with this kind of start anything is possible and for that we all have to be grateful.

What a World Cup for Wales!