All Blacks coach Graham Henry may exit after Rugby World Cup 2011- Rugby News
All Blacks coach, Graham Henry has hinted his possible exit from the side after the end of forthcoming Rugby World Cup 2011. Although he has not given any solid reason for his stepping down from national duties, he has revealed his future planes in a press
briefing. He told the media today on June 14 that he wants to consolidate his attention to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy, to be played in New Zealand in this year.
Henry has a long rugby career before he took command of the All Blacks in 2004. He started off his coaching career in 1973 with a local Grammar School in Auckland and kept working on his coaching skills. Through his untiring efforts, Henry became the head
coach of Auckland in 1992 and remained in the same office for five years.
He has coached the Blues Super Rugby team in 1997 before starting the journey of international rugby coaching for Wales in 1998. He took charge of All Blacks team in 2004 and remained highly successful with the squad.
The unexpected decision has come out at a very critical stage as there are only a few weeks left in the RWC 2011 kicking off. According to the critics, Henry has made the announcement of his retirement to boost the performance of his team. The All Blacks
have not won any World Cup after their success in the first global show in 1987.
Talking to media about his retirement, Henry said that, "What I have made a decision on, is to be totally focused on the rugby World Cup and then in November to give some thought to the future. One thing is, I'm not too old, I'm just late middle-aged. They
(have) just given me the pension now."
He further said that the best team would be selected to enhance the All Blacks chances to carry the crown. He added that the team selected for the upcoming Tri Nations would most probably be the final squad for the world show piece. Rugby World Cup is kicking
off this year in New Zealand, on September 9.
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