Graham Henry has made a decision regarding his professional future – he’s standing down as All Black coach.
“At some stage you get to the stage where you think ‘well, I don’t want to battle it any more’, I’ve done my bit and I’ve really enjoyed it and it’s been a privilege, but it’s time for me to move on and do other things and the people who are close to me want me to do that as well,” he says, speaking of his children and wife Raewyn.
The Rugby World Cup and Super 12 winning coach held a press conference along with NZRU CEO Steve Tew in Auckland at midday today.
The five-time IRB Coach of the Year says he has felt “privileged” to be able to coach the team and lead it to its first world title in 24 years.
He paid tribute to his closest colleagues and players, ranging from his assistants, Wayne Smith, Steve Hansen and Mike Cron to the two main captains during his time with the team, Richie McCaw and Tana Umaga.
“I’d just like to say thanks to those guys who’ve played over those eight years, those 103 test matches, they’ve been special, they’ve created something that I’m very proud of,” he says.
Henry also made special mention of Tew and the NZRU board, thanking them for their decision to re-appoint him and his coaching team following their loss to France in the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final.
My Opinion On This Article is: I think that it is stink that he resigned because he was a great coach and he tought the team very well, but after all he chose to leave at the right time just after accomplishing what he wanted too. After winning the Rugby World Cup.
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