For Henry, the clock is ticking ... (again)
ALL BLACK coach Graham Henry has trodden a slow and steady path to the 2011 Rugby World Cup and until the 25-20 Bledisloe Cup loss to Australia the plan had pretty much played out as intended.
After the RWC 2007 quarter-final defeat to France in Cardiff there was a lengthy period when Henry was the most reviled man in New Zealand, the nation’s collective wrath as great as that which his predecessors John Hart and John Mitchell had been subjected to.
In Henry’s case, the talkback radio comment was vicious, with many All Black supporters accusing the coach and his associates of not having a Plan B and that its absence was why New Zealand’s RWC dreams had once again been dashed.
Many were surprised that Henry chose to reapply for the coaching role, especially given it was something of a public slap in the face when the NZRU put the job up for grabs. On top of that the New Zealand Rugby Union took the unprecedented step of commissioning an independent review of the 2007 World Cup campaign.
The review, compiled by Mike Heron of law firm Russell McVeagh and Don Tricker of the Sport and Recreation Council, was exhaustive. While it identified some shortcomings, it supported the coaching incumbents. Among its conclusions was that decisions — such as the resting of players during the Super rugby competition to keep them fresh — had been made for the good of the players but had adversely affected their performance due to lack of game time. Also, the continual swapping of positional combinations in early matches was designed to keep all the players involved. But as a ploy it didn’t work.
Crucially, the main finding was that the coaching and organisation of Henry and his co-coaches Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen was impeccable. Adidas, a company involved with many of the world’s top-flight teams, described the All Blacks as the most professionally organised team they had ever dealt with.
The review stated that in interviews with relevant parties the All Blacks were universally referred to as “meticulous”, “excellent”, “superb” and “incredibly efficient.”
The findings concluded that Henry had the necessary skills to continue as coach and that with lessons learned from the disastrous 2007 world cup campaign he was the right man to lead the All Blacks into the 2011 RWC.
The review, in a large part commissioned to justify the sacking of Henry, instead became the reason for his reappointment.
Many New Zealanders were outraged he was given the go-ahead to stay in the job. Months of criticism, especially from those who had supported his main rival, current Australia coach Robbie Deans, threatened to withhold their support of the All Blacks. Canterbury Crusader fans who had closely witnessed Deans’ coaching successes tried unsuccessfully to start a ‘Back Australia’ campaign and the NZRU fan monitor reported a 10% drop in supporter interest.
Members of the press also got in on the act, and some campaigned relentlessly against Henry for well over 12 months.
Henry wasn’t the only one copping the blame for the ‘07 failures, and a prime target was Richie McCaw. But Henry stuck by his captain and as soon as his own position was secure he reinstated McCaw to the head of a team in serious need of rebuilding.
Sixteen of the squad involved in the 2007 campaign left New Zealand to play overseas and of those eight could be described as senior players and part of the leadership group groomed by Henry.
The benchmark for any All Black coach is results, and no matter what needed to be put in place, building through to 2011, winning test matches had to be the priority.
When Australia installed Deans as their coach the pressure ratcheted up considerably and Henry responded in the best way. To date test encounters between the Kiwi coaches stand at All Blacks 14, Wallabies 2.
Henry, Hansen and Smith have always remained loyal to their players, sometimes to the detriment of team performance, but rebuilding the depth in the squad required special attention.
With the relative lack of funds available in New Zealand and Australian rugby, it is a southern hemisphere phenomenon that sees many of our most experienced players head northwards after each world cup. Previously those who went were in the twilight of their career, but after 2007 talent that could have continued on another four years, players such as Carl Hayman, Luke McAlister, Nick Evans and Doug Howlett, departed leaving massive holes both on and off the field.
Henry has rebuilt his player depth by bringing talent into the All Black environment early, and if deemed to have the right attitude and potential they are given a range of ‘work ons’ and, importantly, the time to develop their skills. It is this ability to keep contact and monitor the improvements, or not, of players which rapidly grew the player base.
Isaia Toeava, Zac Guildford, Adam Thomson, Owen and Ben Franks, Andy Ellis, and Richard Kahui, to name a few, have come into the system early and been found to have the right attitude to succeed. They have then had time back at provincial rugby level with obvious instructions about improvements needed, while other players have been selected in their place at All Black level.
This schooling of players has been successful, with all the above mentioned making it into the 2011 RWC squad. The most notable success has been Ma’a Nonu, who was left out of the 2007 squad after Henry identified passing and defensive weaknesses in his game. However, contact between coaches and player was always maintained and the improved skill levels now exhibited by Nonu arguably put him at world No 1 inside centre. Having the much-vaunted Sonny Bill Williams breathing down his neck has taken Nonu’s game to a new level and he was New Zealand’s best back in the loss to Australia.
Henry is not someone who enjoys the limelight but his year’s of experience and life skills, he is now 65 years old, give him the confidence to call things as he sees them. He doesn’t suffer fools, he can be almost monosyllabic when asked daft questions by the press, but his dry sense of humour, wry smile and self-deprecating manner has endeared him to New Zealand rugby fans.
In a recent New Zealand newspaper interview, Henry admitted it takes two days for him to recover from the stress of a test match and “struggles to escape the game and sometimes feels saturated by it”. He says people tell him he always looks serious during the internationals. “What people don’t realise is you don’t know when big brother is watching, the number of people who say why don’t you smile when the camera is on you.” And then he adds, “At least you’re not scratching your balls or something.”
However, Henry has a deep regard for the history of the All Blacks and not only does he feel a sense of responsibility to those who have gone before, he is acutely aware that the All Blacks belong to the people of New Zealand.
The All Black ethos has taken serious forward steps under his leadership. A secondary school principal in his previous profession, Henry has taught players that their responsibility as an All Black on the field is only a small part of the job. In this era of media immediacy,
Henry is the first All Black coach to have a squad which has grown up and known only the professional rugby era. How they play, train and interact with the wider community is as professionals, no different from those in more mainstream occupations. As in most professions, success is expected — demanded — and he, as the man at the helm, is charged with making it happen.
“We need to win a Rugby World Cup,” he says. “And 2011 is it.”
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