Preparation for the All Blacks’ next assault on a rugby World Cup begins in September according to coach Graham Henry, confirmed to lead them in 2011.
Henry and assistants Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith had their contracts extended by two years, handing them another crack at the tournament that has bedevilled New Zealand rugby since the All Blacks’ sole triumph in 1987.
While it was a considerable surprise when the trio were reappointed after the failure of 2007, there were no eyebrows raised at Thursday’s extension.
With Robbie Deans now coaching the Wallabies and Warren Gatland with Wales, Henry and his henchmen were the only logical options to challenge for world supremacy on home soil in two years.
Fronting media after All Blacks’ training in Wellington, 63-year-old Henry said the drive to win a World Cup and atone for 2007 was strong.
His mind could now switch into World Cup mode, something that would happen very soon.
“Once this Tri-Nations is over we need to be thinking quite a bit about that,” he said.
“Your thought process looks forward to two years’ time.”
The Tri-Nations needed full attention because of the new-look nature of Henry’s current team, who had struggled through last month’s Tests against France and Italy.
“A third of the side is playing their first year of All Black rugby and we just need to get our feet under the table and get comfortable with that group of people,” he said.
“And once that has been achieved, I think we can look ahead a bit more.”
Henry described his reappointment as a “huge privilege” and one which seemed a world away in the aftermath of the disastrous quarterfinal loss to France at Cardiff two years ago.
“After the World Cup, I don’t think any of us thought we would continue,” he said.
“But after our review and the support of other people and support of the guys we coach, we decided to carry on.
“We managed to do reasonably well last year, we’ve got major challenges this year obviously and we’re building quite a new side.
“And there’s obviously challenges on the horizon.”
The trio’s tenure will stretch to eight years, comfortably an All Blacks coaching record for longevity.
While the 2007 World Cup remains a massive disappointment, Henry has guided New Zealand to comfortably the best record of any team in international rugby since 2004.
Their 57 wins from 66 tests gives them an 86 percent record. Over the same period, world champions South Africa are next best with 47 wins from 70 tests (68 percent), followed by Australia (63), France (62) and Ireland (61).
In that time, the All Blacks have also defended the Bledisloe Cup five times, won the Tri-Nations four times, achieved a clean-sweep of the British and Irish Lions in 2005, and won two Grand Slams in 2005 and 2008.
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw welcomed the news, which he said would provide “certainty” for the players and a co-ordinated approach to the World Cup.
“You only focus on one campaign at a time but you can build on it and you know you’ve got 2-1/2 years to keep building on what we’re doing,” McCaw said.
“For this team to keep performing the way we have, it’s nice to know we’ve got the same crew that are going to lead that.”
Ben J
Guest
The Springboks would kill to have a coach like Graham Henry. Wait, they have tried that already... Doh!
johnnyboy
Guest
I agree 100% with craigb and have said many times with the talent pool available, any half decent coach could coach the all blacks to an 85% win record. Only a complete, arrogant idiot could cock the world cup up like henry & co. With John Mitchell a close second. NZ badly needed a humble down to earth coach like deans but NZRFU were to stupid and arrogant to realise it. NZ in for some bad times as it reaps what it has sown. I feel sorry for the quality players who deserve better. Or do they by backing Henry & co ? Time will tell.
Mike
Guest
If he is to be judged on RWC2011, then I feel sorry for him - he might well do it, but there is no guarantee (which is not a criticism of Henry). My perception is that each World Cup the competition gets a little bit tougher for the top nations. To get through the finals, ABs will have to beat the best three of, say, England, Bokke, Australia, France, Ireland, Argentina, Fiji, Wales.... Not just any three, but the three who happen to be performing best at that particular time. And before they get to the finals, the pool matches will take their toll, particularly Tonga and France. That is a big ask, even for the ABs.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
There was no other choice. The NZRU made a mistake appointing Mitchell in 2001, so they'd be unlikely to choose a Super 14 coach or any rep coach. It's important to note that Henry, Hansen and Smith were reappointed as a trio. if they presented a more compelling case than Deans, then more power to them. I think they've got their work cut out for them building a new look side, and I wonder if they can stay ahead of the game in their sixth year in charge, but so far they've answered every challenge. Even if Deans has made the Wallabies better, the point of comparison is different. Henry and Co. are being judged on what they've already accomplished, not what other coaches did in the past.
craigb
Guest
Sam, Last years wallabies beat SA in SA (first time in ages), beat the AB's once and pushed them to the wire twice. Beat france in france and England (back to back first time in ages). Yes they got thumped by the Ab's and SA, but considering Deans only got to the job post S14 he made a big difference in a short period of time. The Wallabies this year swapped out allot of there 1st string players for the 2nd test and still looked composed and fluent, but by no means brilliant. The AB's were none of these things. Henry is not a great coach but the AB's are a great team. If you want to keep by all means do so, it's just one less hurdle teams playing the AB's need to get over. BTW what was J Mitchell record like when he got the sack?? I reckon it was pretty similar and his RWC exit was not nearly as bad. Its just a case of jobs for Aucklander old boys. No wonder the team doesn't seem to gel unless a real leader (Umaga, McCaw) is present
Who Needs Melon
Guest
You can see that a World Cup in 2011 would make Henry not the most loved perhaps but one of the most successful coaches New Zealand has ever had. Yet a loss - 2 world cup losses - will probably completely flip this around and make his reappointments seem some of the worst decisions ever for New Zealand rugby.
Derm
Roar Guru
New Zealand? Henry? Yawn.
Taniwha
Guest
No complaints here. Coaches gain from experience as much as players do so maybe this time around Henry will be that much a better coach come 2011. Sam your statistical knowledge never ceases to impress. Do you have a job?
Knives Out
Guest
People forget how fallible the All Blacks were prior to Henry's arrival. My theory is that there is a lot of jealousy from the other Anzac nations about how easily NZ have dominated them during Henry's tenure.
Sam Taulelei
Roar Guru
Craig "To say Henry is a great coach because of his 86% winning percentage is ridiculous." you could argue that winning percentages alone doesn't define greatness so let's say Henry is a successful coach instead. "I could get at least 75% winning record if I had the AB’s at my disposal and I am no great mastermind" your last five words summed up that ridiculous statement. You've focused on his tenure with the Lions in 2001 and the June tests this year as examples of his inferior coaching ability. Agree the Lions experience wasn't successful but yet still invaluable in his development and he has publicly acknowledged that his time spent coaching in the NH and with the Lions has made him a better coach. This years tests were affected by mitigating circumstances and if you don't think that they are relevant - to put it in perspective, Deans was robbed of his best players for half of the 2007 Super 14 and they didn't qualify for the finals for the first time. No team can perform to their normal high standards when you're missing top quality players. "A good coach like Deans took essentially the same team and made them better." define and explain how he has made them better. Their results last year were no better than 2006 or 2007 under John Connolly. They were inconsistent, lacked conditioning, and conceded more tries than before under defence coach John Muggleton. There were some improvements in their scrum but unlike Henry who was able to substitute players in the last 20 minutes of the Bledisloe decider, Deans refused to go to the bench. Why? because essentially the same team hadn't got any better. I agree with you that the NZRU would have been hypocritical to sack Henry for the mistakes of 2007 as they had greenlit his plans however it's ironic that the rotation policy you claim was the wrong thing to do is exactly what Deans is doing with his Wallabies now and what many rugby commentators now assert has contributed to the lack of depth that's been exposed through injury this year because he didn't rotate players enough last year. The Wallabies are a settled and confident side after three tests. The All Blacks are in a state of flux and will be strengthened with the return of several first choice players. If recent history has shown us anything about rugby tests between these two countries, previous form is irrelevant because they both rise to the occasion.
craigb
Guest
To say Henry is a great coach because of his 86% winning percentage is ridiculous. I say that because I could get at least 75% winning record if I had the AB's at my disposal and I am no great mastermind. He took the best of 4 nations in the Lions and could not be Australia. He is not a great coach by any stretch. Look at the last June tests, he has not got his best available and he cannot deliver a truly convincing performance. The AB's won due to their collective talent not because of good coaching. Much like the Boks really. A good coach like Deans took essentially the same team and made them better. It remains to be seen whether he can do that again this year, but it is only the arrogance of the NZRU that signed Henry again after the RWC and again now. To not do so would be to admit that the rotation policy and stopping player playing in the S14 etc were the wrong thing to do. Since they agreed to the idea they would need to go too.
Sam Taulelei
Roar Guru
I don't disagree with any of you that Henry has achieved a high degree of success and I've enjoyed the ride. With no world cup tournament then NZ would lay claim to be the best team in the world and self proclaimed world champions. But all the major rugby playing nations gather together every four years to win a small golden cup and that achievement erases from memory anything that has transpired beforehand - good and bad. I don't agree with it, but I accept it as the reality. Graham Henry's favourite retort to any criticism of his rotation and conditioning programmes were "judge me on my world cup results" He now gets another chance to be judged.
Stash
Guest
... completely grumpy guy that he is...
Stash
Guest
Sam - I certainly appreciate Henry's achievements to date and hopefully moving forward, its a good record. It took NZ quite a while to regain the Bledsloie, and a lot of heartbreaking moments for Kiwis (ie Eales kick to win... that game that carried on playing well after the whistle). Of course it would be great if the ABs win the world cup, but who wants to wait around for 4 years to appreciate a great sport. Good work Henry for bringing in all the silverware in between.
Hemjay
Guest
Henry has won 59 of the 66 tests matches since he has been the head coach. Thats pretty impressive and also only further highlights that he is one of if not the most successful coaches in the world. But it is true that the world cup is what he will be judged on.
JamesB
Guest
I don't know, these are pretty significant achievements and a 86pct winning record. Victory in 2011 would certainly top it all off.
Sam Taulelei
Roar Guru
The truth is, none of those achievements will count for anything if he is unable to deliver the World Cup in 2011. That's the only reason he reapplied for the position and the reason why he was reappointed and his contract extended. Just as the All Blacks are judged by the rugby world upon their world cup results, so too will Graham Henry be judged as a successful coach.
Amateur Hour
Guest
Both correct, but the lack of World Cup, thus far, is the first thing that springs to mind and is probably he will be remembered for, unless that is rectified.
CronullaKiwi
Guest
Yep, I think alot of people seem to forget that bar the world cup im pretty sure Henry is close to the most successful coach of all time.
JamesB
Guest
What can you say - Bledisloe Cup x 5 Tri-Nations x 4 British and Irish Lions in 2005 - 3 to nil Grand Slams in 2005 and 2008