All Blacks co-coach Steve Hansen will apply for the Crusaders Super 14 coaching position vacated by new Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.

Hansen, the All Blacks forward coach and former coach of Wales, has the blessing of New Zealand head coach Graham Henry to pursue the position.

"Once Robbie had made his decision clearly the job was going to come up, so I started thinking about it then, but only confirmed it in my own mind in the last couple of weeks," Hansen said on Friday.

"The closing date was the other day so I thought I had better make a decision."

Hansen, who is expected to succeed Henry as All Blacks coach before the next World Cup, said taking on a head coaching role was important for his coaching development.

"It's something (head coach) I would like to do because it's a good challenge and it's something I haven't done for a while. You coach because you enjoy the challenge and it's what I need at the moment," he said.

"Ironically, I would probably end up spending more time at home. That would be a great bonus."

Hansen would expect to retain his All Blacks role while coaching the Crusaders, who are this year's Super 14 champions.

Henry supported Hansen's decision.

"He thinks he'll be a better coach if he coaches more consistently over the year and I'm totally in support of that," he said.

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