Henry calls it as he sees it
BY TOBY ROBSON
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If the All Blacks coaches have achieved one thing this season it is to put their players on notice that they have nowhere to hide ahead of what shapes as a treacherous Tri-Nations.
Graham Henry continued a brutal trail of honest public comment in naming his squad to play Australia in two weeks time with a less than flattering appraisal of wing Lelia Masaga and second flogging for unlucky loose forward Liam Messam.
The pair were the two main omissions from the players who featured in the three-test series against France and Italy, with little-used openside George Whitelock the other.
Henry revealed the All Blacks selectors had concerns over Messam's erratic play even after they named him at No8 in the season opener against France.
"Shag [Steve Hansen], Smithy [Wayne Smith] and I were always concerned and if you analyse that test match [in Dunedin] you'll know why he hasn't been selected," Henry said. "He missed crucial tackles and turned the ball over which cost us points. At test match level you can't afford to do that."
On Masaga, the All Blacks head coach said he had "looked short of a gallop" during his test debut against Italy in Christchurch.
"Lelia needs to play some games. We think he has got some real ability, like his magic with the ball. He's not so good without the ball, so he needs to work on that part of his game."
Such summaries have become unheard of in the sanitised world of professional rugby with Super 14 coaches rarely having a critical word to say about even the most woefully out-of-form player.
Henry does temper any criticism with the footnote that the door is never shut and in Messam's case emphasised his immense effect on the All Blacks' 18-16 comeback victory over Munster on last year's end of year tour.
"We said to Liam, you've got to fix these things up. He's got things that win games, and he's got things that lose games. That's the disappointment for us and him."
Henry's approach is refreshing and may even become a motivator for players determined to prove him wrong, but one wonders how it is being received by players in private.
Whatever the case, the two omissions are difficult to argue.
Talented Messam may have been harshly judged after the loss to France, but he was never going to be selected ahead of returning No8 Rodney So'oialo.
Messam remains a man without a position, too small for No8, too short for blindside and at present apparently not being considered as an openside despite the urging of All Black great Michael Jones.
Masaga too, may have been given an overly-harsh review, but Hosea Gear's recall was simply irresistible.
The Hurricanes wing stood out like a beacon for the Junior All Blacks where he scored eight tries in four matches and looked both stronger and faster than any of his rivals.
With Sitiveni Sivivatu back from injury there was simply no room for Masaga.
It will be interesting to see whether Gear can supplant Joe Rokocoko in the starting XV against the Wallabies.
The other notable selection over the weekend was the return of 10-test Hurricanes lock Jason Eaton. It is debatable whether he is a test quality blindside flanker, but it is good to see a player with much to offer back in the international fold.
ALL BLACKS SQUAD
All Blacks squad to contest the Tri-Nations championship: Backs: Mils Muliaina, Cory Jane, Joe Rokocoko, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Hosea Gear, Isaia Toeava, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Luke McAlister, Stephen Donald, Piri Weepu, Jimmy Cowan, Brendon Leonard. Forwards: Rodney So'oialo, Richie McCaw (captain), Tanerau Latimer, Kieran Read, Jerome Kaino, Jason Eaton, Isaac Ross, Bryn Evans, Brad Thorn, John Afoa, Neemia Tialata, Owen Franks, Tony Woodcock, Wyatt Crockett, Andrew Hore, Keven Mealamu, Aled de Malmanche.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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"Henry calls it as he sees it"? Ok then ,Graham , how come nobody else seems to be able to see it?The only thing I can see , is that the Emporer has no clothes.
@LOGAN-DO YOU ACTUALLY WATCH ANY RUGBY OR ARE YOU RELATED TO NED REYERSON? "Toeva has potential", he has played over 25 tests making mistakes in all of them(except in Hong Kong), remember vs South Africa when he dropped the ball twice with daylight in front of him? BEING AN ALL BLACK IS ABOUT CONSISTENCY TOEVA HAS THE WORST HANDS I HAVE EVER SEEN FROM AN ALL BLACK BACK. JANE(ELLISON), READ(WALDROM) & TOEVA(TUITAVAKE) ARE NOT INTERNATIONAL CLASS AND NOT OUR BEST. In the brackets are the better players. The head coach does not do the defensive coaching, his job is the overall well being of the coaching unit AND THE FINAL SAY ON SELECTIONS!! HE PROTECTS TOEVA,MCALISTAIR(BETTER AS SECOND FIVE BACKUP),DONALD,ROKOCOKO,SO'OIALO,LAUAKI(PREVIOUSLY)BUT TRASHES MESSAM,ROSS & WEEPU. WHY?ONLY HE KNOWS BUT AS HEAD COACH HE MUST GO!!! Logan, who will be the NEXT COACH? IT HAS TO BE HANSEN(THROUGH DEFAULT). Full Stop on the bottom line is we need change,it will happen before the end of the year tour. P.S Ned Reyerson is the irritating Insurance Salesman from Groundhog Day whom Henry reminds me of with his banter "judge me on the world cup".
@Mark #24 - Mate I was only pointing out how Henry so readily fails to take ownership and easily places it on players shoulders. In other words excuses. I agree with you re Messam! On this point though does it not alarm you like me how our brains trust can get their selections so horribly wrong? I am ambivalent re Messam but he isnt that bad that he was solely to blame for our loss....but Henry would like to have us think so....
@USA AB Fan..... Mate Henrys win/loss ratio means nout for me these days as with the benefit of hindsight they meant for nothing did they pre 2007. I'll concede I dont want to see him dropped as we unfortunately dont have anything better to replace him with...
HOWEVER I would like to see him lose that smarmy "i know best" attitude that distances him from the owners of the team he is temporary custodian of...US! I want to see more ownership from Henry of the state of our game and less excuses about media, Nth Hemisphere Club chq books, injuries and referees being the cause of the state of our game because Graham as you have Steve Tew in your back pocket YOU and solely you have had the running of our game since the Lions Tour in 05..... all roads head to Rome Graham and in that regard you are Ceasar but what are you going to do to get your legions behind you cause your appeal as a successful warmonger is fading.
So Masaga and Messam can be undermined by Father Ted but butter-fingers Toeava and Flake McAlister (who lest we forget has thrown away games to the French) are 'special' or 'gold-nuggets'.
Weepu was the back-up 10 and is more likely to succeed there this year than McAlister, who is only up to back-up at the moment.
Toeava cannot hold the ball and he should be replaced by someone with talent that can do the basics as well - Ellison springs to mind.
If Henry had any respect for the NZ game he would stand down.
The man Henry calls "GOLD", Toeava, has the hands of a digital clock!!! How many more chances does he get!!! Any blind man without a dog and a cane would see his limitations. Another "flash in the pan" Aucklander who is part of "Henry's Untouchables Club". HENRY & TEW MUST GO!!! They have already cost NZ the chance of having DEANS. The NZRFU is an incompetent joke!!! Henry is pathetic!!!
GRAHAM HENRY LIVES IN FANTASY LAND!!!
2 things, 1. We are talking about 30 guys throwing around a egg shaped ball for 80 minutes. Is it really worth all this raised blood pressure? It's ok to be passionate but so of you commentators need to get a hobby. 2. If you are a real AB supporter you will stop all this BS and get behind the team! Do you think that they go out to lose and underperform? I don't think so. Go the AB's, kick some serious butt this year boys. (and if you don't remember that the sun will still rise the next morning!)
Thank goodness! Some rational thinkers in the last few comments!!!
How many TriNations have we won?!!! And how long have we been rated No 1 in the World rankings?!!!
How many players have we lost overseas or to injury?
Some of the palyers may not be up to it but can you name someone to replace him (and think really hard before your start typing!)!
Give me a 1st 5 who is capable and not injured at the moment? Prop is another area people complain about (and I agree) but, could you prepare a prop is short time to go into an All Blacks jersey?
Unfortunately, the utility value of some players will get them in ahead of specialists. In this day and age no one can afford to carry too many specialists!
Some people who comment on these don't know anything about rugby. Masaga is definately not ready for international rugby yet, he is way off the mark. He was made to look stupid against Italy, sure he can be brilliant with ball in hand but his defensive game is poor. He also needs to develop a bit of a kicking game if it wasn't for Mills at the back he would have been made to look even worse. I also agree about Messam the guy just isn't big enough for number 8. However, I agree with Jones that he could be a good number 7. However, if this was to be the case he would need at least a season at 7 in super 14 to find out. As for everyone bagging Reid, do you know anything about rugby? This guy is good and will be a very good all black. People these days just wanna see people like Messam do one or two flashy things all game. Reid and So'oialo have huge work ethics and do all the grunt work off the ball. Same with Kaino I'm sick of reading about people bagging him as well, for me he has been our most improved all black over the last year and continues to get better with every test. Sure Toeava is very average and Smith and Kahui are our best centres but with Kahui out Tuitavake is the only other one who could be considered over Toeava. I would rather see Tuitavake there myself but the selectors see him as a wing and not a centre.
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We need Robbie its as simple as that!!