New Zealand coach made chief of police in Japanese city of Beppu

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SHOWS:

BEPPU, JAPAN (SEPTEMBER 26, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. BEPPU CITY CHIEF OF POLICE YUFUMI SATO PUTTING SASH OVER NEW ZEALAND RUGBY TEAM COACH STEVE HANSEN READING (Japanese): "One-day chief police officer" / SATO HANDING HANSEN A POLICE CAP / HANSEN PUTTING CAP ON HEAD

2. VARIOUS OF SATO READING OUT STATEMENT WHILE HANSEN LISTENS

3. HANSEN SHAKING HANDS AND BOWING TO SATO

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND RUGBY TEAM COACH, STEVE HANSEN, HOLDING DOCUMENT APPOINTING HIM OFFICIALLY AS CHIEF OF POLICE FOR THE DAY, SAYING:

"Very humbling to be recognised as the chief of police of Beppu for the day. I don't have a clue how I'm going to run the city. I won't be able to do it as well as my colleague, the real chief."

5. JAPANESE MEDIA/OFFICIAL TRANSLATOR SPEAKING

6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW ZEALAND RUGBY TEAM COACH, STEVE HANSEN, SAYING:

"I guess the big similarity is you're doing things under pressure, you're doing things as a team, you can't be an individual on the police force, you can't be an individual in a game of rugby, you're a team sports, so..."

7. HANSEN HOLDING POLICE CAP AND LOOKING DOWN

STORY: New Zealand coach Steve Hansen was made honorary chief of police of the Japanese city of Beppu for the day on Thursday (September 26) as a sign of respect for both him and his team.

Hansen, who was decorated with a sash and cap by Beppu's regular police chief Yufumi Sato, said: "Very humbling to be recognised as the chief of police of Beppu for the day.

"I don't have a clue how I'm going to run the city," he joked. "I won't be able to do it as well as my colleague, the real chief."

The All Blacks have moved their training base to Beppu, a city situated on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu known for its natural hot baths.

Hansen is no stranger to the police force, having served for six years in the New Zealand police.

He said serving in the police had been his vocation and he found similarities to his current job as head coach.

(Production: Lucien Libert)