'That's why I applaud them': Ex-Bok coach hails All Blacks' call as 'masterstroke'

Former Springbok World Cup-winning coach Jake White has hailed the All Blacks appointing Sir Graham Henry to Dave Rennie’s new-look selection panel as a “wonderful master stroke.”

White predicts the All Blacks will be a different team now, with Henry, 79, a five-time World Rugby Coach of the Year, spending time with the team when they are in New Zealand, and believes it will close the gap between them and South Africa.

He says that the new All Blacks coach, Dave Rennie, has done well to tap into history, which he says is often ignored in the sport, but that recently it has started to redress, with England and Scotland handing retrospective caps to players who played in non-capped games.

White feels that Henry, who led the All Blacks to World Cup glory in 2011, four years after he coached the Springboks to success in France, will be more than just a member of a selection panel.

“It’s a wonderful master stroke. He is an unbelievable selector. Look at that Auckland team he put together with Zinzan Brooke, Olo Brown, and Sean Fitzpatrick et al. That was a proper rugby team that was so far ahead of its time.

“Then he went to Wales and took them to beat South Africa for the first time. There’s no way he’s just a selector. He’s gonna be a confidant and a motivator for players. He’s gonna be a bouncing board for the coaches. Imagine him sitting at breakfast and talking to the All Blacks about winning the World Cup.

“He knew the greats like Sir Brian Lochore and Colin Meads, and will be able to share rugby stories all day, every day in that environment. The German philosopher Georg Hegel said people don’t learn from history; other than that, you don’t learn from history.

“And one thing New Zealand have done, and it’s been well documented, with books like Legacy, is that they’ve prided themselves on the fact that they don’t pick foreign-based players, the All Black jersey has been priceless.

“They could have lost a home World Cup by bringing Nick Evans back, who was playing at Harlequins, rather than playing Stephen Donald, who had been off for five weeks on a fishing trip.

“And that’s why I applaud them, because they’re not prepared to negotiate on their mantra, the All Blacks come first, and that to be an All Black is a massive honour, there is an aura about wearing that All Blacks jersey,” he said.

White points out that Henry would probably never have thought he would walk into an All Blacks dressing room again, and his excitement shows how big a deal it actually is.

“One of the most common things when you ask a player to come hand jerseys over is they always talk about never taking it for granted. And number two is always play like it’s your last game, and number three is they would do anything to have one more crack.

“So to get a guy like Graham Henry, who probably thought he would never walk into an All Blacks changing room again, and give even a 79-year-old guy an opportunity like that is phenomenal.

“And the fact that he comes across as so excited just shows you how big it actually is, and it’s also good to get former coaches involved who have coached against your team, as I did with Eddie Jones in 2007.

“Asking them what did you say in your team talk? What do you do in your week? And what are the dangers you foresee when you play that team? Why wouldn’t somebody use a Sir Clive Woodward or a Jake White? We really don’t learn enough from history,” he added.