'Hand of Frog' rub of the green say All Blacks

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Perhaps it's fitting that the All Blacks found more commiseration than condemnation for under-the-gun French football star Thierry Henry as they entered his homeland.

After all, the cynics have suggested that Henry's outrageous sleight-of-hand display that helped knock Ireland out of the football World Cup last week belonged more on a rugby field, than a football one.

As New Zealand rugby's finest arrived in France for the penultimate week of their year-ending tour, the Henry story raged on around Europe, with the national team's captain still the subject of countless column inches debating the merits, or otherwise, of his handiwork in France's controversial progression to the World Cup finals at the expense of the luckless Irish.

Henry, of course, handled the ball outrageously in the lead-up to France's extra-time goal that ultimately put them though to South Africa - an act picked up clearly by the television cameras, but not at the time by any of the match officials.

The Irish cried foul, but sadly their pleas fell on deaf ears as the goal was allowed to stand and another famous chapter in the sporting hall of shame was added.

The former Arsenal star has since been pilloried by many for his dishonesty and lack of integrity amid calls for the match to be replayed and for the French captain to be banned from the finals. Most consider his reputation now permanently sullied, and he has been dissected over the last few days like no other sportsman in recent times.

Others have pointed the finger more at Fifa's obstinate refusal to introduce technology to the decision-making process, and some have even backed the errant one, declaring that his actions were merely the by-product of the incredibly high stakes of the situation.

But, unlike many in this part of the world, the All Blacks were not about to condemn the hand-some Henry for his Irish touch-up.  

The "Hand of Frog", as some of the more downmarket publications have dubbed it, has been the major sports talking point in the north, and it was only natural that it was raised as the New Zealanders hit France for the first time.

Assistant coach Steve Hansen was even asked if he thought some French might support his side on Saturday night at the Stade Velodrome here in Marseille to register their disgust over the Henry affair.

"I think the French will support themselves," said Hansen. "I don't think there's too many Frenchmen worrying about Thierry Henry's little mishap. Sometimes that happens in sport, doesn't it?

"I can think of an occasion not that long ago when we could have bitched and moaned a bit. It just happens in sport. That's the way it is.

"He'll come under a lot of pressure for it, but he's a pretty tough bloke and he'll sort himself out."

Hansen, of course, was referring to the All Blacks' own experience of being undone by some French sleight of hand, in Cardiff in 2007, when referee Wayne Barnes missed a blatant forward pass in the lead-up to the try that secured Les Bleus' famous World Cup quarterfinal upset.

But though they had empathy for the Irish, the All Blacks' sympathy definitely lay with Henry.

"He's a great soccer player, he plays to the letter of the law, and in this case he's won a game for his country and put them in the World Cup," said Hansen.

"Some people might disagree with it, [but] it's a spontaneous thing. You react, and sometimes you might sit back and think 'I wish I hadn't done that'."

It's a fair bet that Hansen has read Henry's state of mind perfectly.

- © Fairfax NZ News