Graham Henry | RugbyPass

Graham
Henry

Graham Henry is a former All Blacks coach and one of the greatest coaching minds of all time. Discover his career with RugbyPass, your resident rugby gurus.

Sir Graham Henry is a former All Blacks coach who led the side to Rugby World Cup glory in 2011. Across his distinguished coaching career, he’s also coached Wales, the British and Irish Lions and Auckland.

Prior to becoming a full-time coach, Graham Henry played rugby union for Canterbury and cricket for Canterbury and Otago. He was also a school teacher and headmaster.

Although he continued to teach until 1996, Graham Henry took over as the head coach of Auckland in 1992. During this time, the team won the National Provincial Championship four seasons in a row. After committing to coaching full time, he took over as the coach of the Blues in 1996, winning the Super 12 title twice in his first two seasons.

After being overlooked for the All Blacks job in 1998, Graham Henry left New Zealand and became the head coach of Wales. In 1999, the side won 11 consecutive games. As a result of his successes with Wales, he was asked to coach the British and Irish Lions on their tour of Australia in 2001.

Graham Henry left Wales in 2002 and was appointed as a defensive coach at the Blues. Then, he finally became head coach of the All Blacks in 2004.

Following the appointment of Graham Henry, New Zealand began to dominate world rugby once again. Although his side only reached the quarter-final stage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, they won the 2011 edition of the tournament. In total, he won 88 of his 103 tests as the head coach of the All Blacks. During this period, he was also named as the IRB International Coach of the Year five times.

After stepping down as the head coach of the All Blacks in 2011, Graham Henry took up a position as a mentor with the NZRU for coaches in New Zealand. Since, he has also worked as a consultant and an assistant coach with Argentina, and as a consultant with Leinster. Since 2016, he has been a leadership mentor for Auckland’s Bunnings NPC side.