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Super Rugby Pacific

'Strong opinions': Dave Rennie appoints Sir Graham Henry as All Blacks selector

Henry Lee

reporting from Auckland

Published: 11 May 2026 14:18 PDT
Updated: 11 May 2026 14:28 PDT

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - SEPTEMBER 21: Former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry looks on before the Rugby World Cup 2019 Group B game between New Zealand and South Africa at International Stadium Yokohama on September 21, 2019 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

New All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has appointed Sir Graham Henry as a selector, providing expertise and experience to the new coaching group.

Henry will return to the fold after coaching the All Blacks from 2004 to 2011, leading the team to the Rugby World Cup glory over France in Auckland.

Rennie has brought in the 79-year-old to oversee the selection process and has already begun planning with the new head coach, with over 60 players from Super Rugby Pacific being accessed by the duo.

Speaking to media in Auckland on Tuesday, the new All Blacks head coach explained that the conversations with Henry have been promising.

“I’ve had a number of chats with him even prior to applying for the job and just to get our head around the legacy and all the work he did around leadership, what he found, what he learned in his time as the All Black coach,” Rennie said.

“He talked about the impact that Sir Brian Lochore had when he was coaching the All Blacks as a selector.

Rennie, who’s in Auckland as his Kobelco Kobe Steelers side have two weeks off, said Henry is well-aware of the current form of players in New Zealand.

“He watches a lot of rugby, he’s got pretty strong opinions on players and so on. The conversations we’ve had have been brilliant.”

The former All Blacks head coach was involved with Argentina as an assistant since leaving New Zealand Rugby, while also having experience with Wales, the British and Irish Lions, and Leinster.

Rennie told media in Auckland that having Henry as a selector will help Rennie and his coaching staff have challenging conversations around selections.

“He’s an avid watcher of the game and that’s important for us.

“We’re hoping that with his eye, he may see something a little bit different to us, which will help get the right people in the squad.”

Comments

19 Comments

PMcD 89 days ago

I think this could be a master stroke appointment. There’s so much rugby IQ & EQ in that appointment that will help Rennie navigate the tough decisions.

The more I look at these appointments, the more I expect Codie Taylor to be appointed AB captain, with Ardie replacing him when he leaves the field.

I think you will see a more physical performance from the AB’s in the forwards, which could quickly put them on track.

Rugby3 89 days ago

As Australia found and NZ will find out, Dave Rennie is just a bit blancmange.

He doesn’t have the personality to drive excellence and ruthlessness the All Blacks need and have relied on in the past.

I expect them to get mauled in South Africa, not knowing where to turn. Rassie is a hippo in coaching ranks. Cuddly looking but viscous and brutal when it needs to be.

Blackmania 89 days ago

Interesting. We already knew that Graham Henry appreciated Dave Rennie, and apparently the feeling is mutual. Despite his age, Graham Henry’s eye for the game is still very valuable. They’ve already discussed around 60 players.

You can feel that Rennie has put a lot of processes and structure in place. Everything is carefully planned. It’s professional — nothing is done randomly with him. It’s a bit different from what we had with Razor, the motivation-style coach. Lol.

Now we’re waiting to see the real thing. The first squad selection. There will inevitably be some surprises — some expected players might miss out, while others we didn’t expect could make it. I can’t wait!

TokoRFC 89 days ago

Interesting, I didn’t see this coming. The All Blacks back room is starting to have a real “Back to the future” look about it. Will be interesting to see how it goes.

But on the face of it Rennie has little time to figure things out for himself so this does seem very mature

B 90 days ago

Wayne Barnes eventually admitted that he got it wrong AB's v France RWC 2007 SF…the call went out to sack Graham Henry for Robbie Deans…

Fast forward to RWC 2011…when Carter, Slade and Cruden all fell over, he calls a Waiuku resident nick named Beaver and the town was renamed Beaverville for a few days following the AB’s win..thank you referee Craig Joubert…

So yeah, we might need some more of the same luck and pearls of wisdom when it really matters going forward to 2027…

Carlos 89 days ago

2007 was QF.

Venomenal1 90 days ago

It's going to be interesting watching NZ assemble going forward. I think things are moving well for them now. But…… if things happen to go south, for what ever reason, I don't think NZ will ever again be as strong as they once were like between 2011 and 2015. The rest of the world has caught up and everyone plays as good as each other now. We will just have to wait and see.

LondonAllBlack 90 days ago

The All Blacks are in good hands.

BH 90 days ago

Great choice to have a proven winner on the selection team.

Utiku Old Boy 90 days ago

Rennie is showing a lot of maturity and wisdom in this appointment. NOTE: Henry is “a” selector, not THE selector. Henry learned a lot of things the hard way and that experience will help this new coaching group. Also he has good history as a part of a successful AB era so his perspective will instantly have credibility. That Rennie is not threatened to bring in a strong former coach says a lot about his lack of ego and team-first focus. Well done Dave!

SB 90 days ago

Very curious now to see how different the squad will be compared to last year.

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