Henry Stays with New Zealand
By Audrey Nolan
After the World Cup disappointment Graham Henry was reappointed as New Zealand coach for 2 more years. He kept the job after 3 years of hard work during which New Zealand won 42 of 46 test matches.
The New Zealand Rugby Union interviewed several candidates on Thursday including Henry, Deans and Junior co-coaches Colin Cooper and Ian Foster but the only two that had possibilities of staying with the role were Deans and Henry.
Robbie Deans was also a strong choice since he has a good record with the Canterbury Crusaders, winning 6 of 12 Super titles and 14 titles with the Crusaders in total. Deans had lucrative offers to coach Australia in order to pursue what he described as a "passion" to coach the All Blacks. It now seems likely Deans will renew negotiations with the Australian Rugby Union, which has offered him substantial financial incentives to win over his New Zealand ties.
The balance went on to Henry’s favor when the New Zealand Union decided not to take in consideration the failure of the 2007 World Cup basically the worst performance ever, when they were kicked out in the quarter finals by France.
The New Zealand union's acting chairman, Mike Eagle, said the board which interviewed all coaching candidates was impressed with their submissions. "At the end of the process, the board concluded that Graham Henry was the best candidate for the position," Eagle said.
"We are all disappointed not to have won the Rugby World Cup. In that regard, the NZRU board accepts it was jointly responsible and accountable for the result." The All Blacks' World Cup failure has been blamed on the reconditioning program and the rotational selection systems which Henry and his team made the cornerstones of his World Cup buildup.
"We are committed to learning the key lessons (of the World Cup failure) which will be explored in the independent review announced earlier this week, Eagle said. Graham's record both on and off the field is among the best in All Blacks rugby history. As a result we believe that in the best interests of New Zealand rugby, Graham and his team were the right choice."
Henry was very happy with the board’s decision and stated: "I'm very grateful for the chance to continue," he said. "We have been a very strong and successful team over the past two years but we were hugely disappointed we didn't bring the World Cup back for New Zealanders."
About the author
Audrey Nolan is a high-ranking writer on sports for the online betting industry. Feel free to reprint this article in its whole on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.