Henry's offer to the RFU
World Cup-winning All Blacks coach Graham Henry is poised to step down from his post in the coming days, but he won’t step away from the game altogethe.
Henry said he has already made a decision about his future, but has delayed announcing it so it does not detract from RWC celebrations, which ended Wednesday with a victory parade in Wellington.
Assistant coach Steve Hansen, who is favoured to succeed Henry in the top job, and New Zealand Rugby Union Chief Executive Steve Tew, confirmed they already knew what Henry’s plans were.
However, neither was prepared to divulge any information.
“I’ve got a good idea, but it would be nice to let Graham in his own time tell people what he’s planning,” Tew said.
And Henry said he would be interested in working with the Rugby Football Union in a development role.
While the outgoing All Black boss, Henry, is basking in the glory of his side’s triumph at Eden Park last weekend, his England counterpart Martin Johnson finds his role under scrutiny following an ignominious quarterfinal exit at the hands of France.
Henry would not be in contention to replace Johnson but could work within the RFU in a backroom capacity.
Rob Andrew currently occupies the role of Professional Rugby Director but, like Johnson, finds his future the subject of speculation.
Henry told the Daily Telegraph: “Yes, I would talk to the RFU, sure.
“I couldn’t just not do anything. I would love to help other people.
“I’m particularly proud about the environment created in this All Blacks team.
“I would love to work in coach development, player development, environmental development, cultural development of a group of people. I’m passionate about that.”
As for knee-jerk sackings of high-profile coaches, Henry added: “Too many people with real ability get shot because of a result.
“Replacing a coach because of a result or because of public pressure or media pressure is not the right thing to do. Replacing a coach because he’s not good enough is the right thing to do.
“Look at all the successful coaches around the world. They’ve got longevity. Look at Sir Alex Ferguson, longevity.”
Sixty-five-year-old Henry has coached the All Blacks in 103 Tests since 2004, winning 88 of them.
Tew says the NZRU will appoint a new coach before Christmas.
Henry and Hansen will team up one more time when they coach the UK Barbarians against the Wallabies on November 26.
