‘Desire to be better drives us’
| Former New Zealand coach Graham Henry tells Craig Ray why the All Blacks are so successful at their fortress — Eden Park in Auckland
IN eight seasons as All Blacks coach between 2004 and 2011 Graham Henry guided New Zealand to the 2011 World Cup crown, five Tri-Nations titles and a British & Irish Lions series win in 2005.
In 103 tests at the All Blacks’ helm Henry’s team won an incredible 88 matches. Henry, who is currently consulting Argentina, scooped the World Coach of the Year title five times.
The Springboks haven’t won at Eden Park since Danie Craven led the team in 1937, losing six of their seven Auckland outings since then. The one anomaly was an 18-18 draw in 1994 — the last time the All Blacks failed to win at Eden Park. The All Blacks have won 31 consecutive tests at Eden Park in the past 19 years. What is so special about the ground? It’s not one thing. New Zealanders see it as the country’s No 1 test venue. It’s also the biggest ground in NZ, holding 60 000 people, and although the All Blacks, like the Springboks, play around the country, Eden Park is their “home”. We’ve won two World Cups at Eden Park [in 1987 and 2011], which adds to the aura. With an overall 87% winning ratio in the past decade, what is it that makes the All Blacks superior to the rest of the world? There is a lot of consistency in the structures. Richie McCaw has represented the All Blacks since 2001 and played 118 tests. He’s been captain since 2006, and when you add a few other special players around him, such as Daniel Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Kieran Read, Conrad Smith and Keven Mealamu, who have been around a long time, there is great continuity of players. But it’s not only special players that have been key to the success, is it? No, there has also been continuity in management. When I retired after the 2011 World Cup, myself and assistant coach Wayne Smith, who also stepped down, were the only two from the entire management staff that moved on. Current coach Steve Hansen was my assistant for 103 tests over eight years, so continuity of people at all levels is vital for ongoing improvement. But not only him — scrum coach Mike Cron, who is now the forwards’ coach, was on my staff for all those years, as was the fitness coach. That continuity is vital because they know how it works, they understand that there is constant evaluation of performances. There are no better people to assess than the ones who have experience in that particular set-up. New people have to start from scratch. They bring in new staff, new ideas and it generally takes 18 months to settle. What drives so many successful people in the All Blacks to improve when they’ve won everything there is to win? There is a desire constantly to be better and that is ingrained in the culture of All Blacks rugby. As a brand the All Blacks are huge in New Zealand and globally, and the players have a massive amount of respect for it. They constantly try to improve the brand and respect the legacy. When it’s your time you try to enhance the name of the All Blacks and leave it in a better state for the next custodians of the jersey. Has it been luck that New Zealand has enjoyed such a wonderful generation of players such as McCaw and Carter, or is it the system that produces such talented individuals? New Zealand has a very good development programme and the secondary schools do a brilliant job. Not only do the schools develop excellent players, they also have the competition structures designed to bring out the best in the players. You’ll notice our national under-20s do pretty well too as a result of the superb structure below them. Does it follow that there is good coaching at junior level as well? Like all things, I believe the coaching could always improve, but what we do have is an attacking attitude towards the game. The ball-in-hand approach is driven from a young age and there is no better time to teach the basic skills of catching, passing and looking for space on the field. Is there an end in sight for NZ dominance? I don’t know, but it is our national sport and there are young men pushing to come through every year, even though we have a relatively small pool of 140 000 players. We have quality athletes who strive to live up to a great history and tradition. Most things in sport are cyclical though, so we’ll have to see.