Henry to help Pumas in championship bid
WORLD Cup-winning coach Graham Henry will again help the Pumas prepare for the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship this year, the Argentine Rugby Union (UAR) said yesterday.
Henry, who steered New Zealand to their second world title in 2011, worked with Pumas coach Santiago “Tati” Phelan last year when Argentina made their debut in the expanded Tri-Nations, their first participation in a major annual international tournament.
“It’s an honour … (for) the UAR to be able to count on the assistance of such an experienced and important person in the rugby world as Graham Henry,” Manuel Galindo, head of the UAR’s high performance department, told a news conference.
Henry is currently a technical adviser to John Kirwan at the Super Rugby Auckland Blues franchise, allowing him to resume the Argentina role, which caused debate in New Zealand last year when the Pumas played the All Blacks in Wellington.
“Having been a very competitive team in the 2013 Rugby Championship, this new edition of the tournament will be an even greater challenge for Argentina,” Henry said in a UAR statement.
“The Springboks, All Blacks and Wallabies will be stronger teams than last year. SA were a young team in 2012, Australia will have recovered their injured players and New Zealand seems to play better each year. But without doubt it will be a positive challenge, you only improve facing the best,” Henry said.
Argentina finished bottom of the 2012 standings, but took points off SA with a 16-16 draw in Mendoza, and lost their matches against Australia by four and six points.
This year’s championship could be Phelan’s last as Pumas coach, a position he has held since Marcelo Loffreda quit after steering Argentina to third place at the 2007 World Cup in France. “Tati has the doors open to continue, but whether he does or not is a personal issue,” UAR president Luis Castillo said. “My opinion and that of the directors is that Tati should stay on.”
He said Phelan, who has a contract until the end of the year, had mentioned possibly quitting for family reasons. The UAR expects Phelan to advise it of his decision as soon as the championship ends with the home match against Australia in Rosario on October 5.
Argentina are hopeful their greater presence on the international stage will open doors to getting a franchise in Sanzar’s Super Rugby competition. Reuters