Graham Henry supports Robbie Deans against criticism after Wallabies’ defeat - Rugby
Graham Henry, Head Coach for All Blacks, defended Australian coach Robbie Deans from the criticism as his side lost to Samoa last weekend in a defeat of 23-32, which is branded by the newspapers as "the most embarrassing result in Australian rugby history".
According to Henry, the Wallabies coach had made the right decision in keeping some of his key players from participating in the match. Refering to the move by Deans, which grabbed criticism from various quarters, he stated, “He was hoping that he'd do the
business without the Reds players. It didn't happen that way so he gets a lot of stick for making the right decision.”
Henry has also extended the time-out for Crusaders within the All Blacks squad due to the extensive travelling and emotional set backs in because of the earthquakes in Canterbury. With the recovery time granted to the Crusaders within the All Blacks squad,
Henry is also preparing his outfit to play against the Fijians on Friday, which makes both cocaches problems comparable.
With many Crusaders who are now taking some time off after they had lost against Queensland Reds, Henry mentioned that it is possible for any team if it is preparing properly to beat its opponents. It was made clear that it is all dependent on the game
plan coupled with the right amount of hard work ahead of the game and it hardly matters how high up the hierarchy a team sits in the International Rugby Board (IRB) world rankings.
Henry further added that if Wallabies had lost to Samoa that will not hamper their way into the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2011, in September.
While acknowledging the similarity between his team and Wallabies’, he further added, “It will give them an extra edge, extra determination. They've had a wake-up call. There's probably a bit of a parallel on Friday night for us.”
According to him, the criticism of Wallabies was snatching away the due credit of Samoans who had played “exceptionally well”. He also appreciated their display of physical and mental strength throughout the game and was of view point that Samoans are not
receiving the due credit.
With the credit of Samoans’ exceptional performance against Wallabies getting sidelined, Henry mentioned that Wallabies need to perceive this defeat as a wake-up call for them as this can be used to streamline their hard work in performing well in the RWC.
He had further supported Deans’ move of giving some of his key players a resting period as he had done to the Crusaders within All Blacks pack, who will not participate in the Tri Nations Series where All-Blacks will meet South Africa on July 30, in Wellington.
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