Deans the man as Henry thinks twice

The saga continues ... the NZRU did the right thing by making the race for the All Blacks coaching job a contestable one but still Graham Henry refuses to indicate what he is going to do.

In the end he may well start again because he believes he has the support of the CEO-in-waiting Steve Tew. But Tew is a man who likes results and it would be difficult to see him not wanting to select the very best for the job.

Henry has a really tough decision to make.

The main focus of his four years in charge was a failure and while he had a lot of success in 2005 and 2006 when the All Blacks played superb rugby when the pressure came on and preparation for the World Cup was required he somehow managed to get it all wrong.

When the public got tired of rotation and frustrated with not seeing the best All Blacks side selected, Graham told us to judge him on the World Cup.

Well, Mr Henry, the reality is we are judging you on the World Cup and if you don't have the conviction of your own words how can you possibly expect players to have that commitment to the game?

The coach has the responsibility to meet all the standards he expects from his players.

I have a great deal of sympathy for the position Henry is in. He is very reluctant to give away the privilege of coaching the All Blacks. It is a highly prestigious position although it can be a position of great stress.

And it is also a position that requires a great deal of responsibility from those seeking it.

And part of that responsibility is recognising when you have taken the team as far as you can.

And clearly that is where we are at with Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith.

The team has not performed in 2007 anywhere near the levels it did in the two previous years and I believe that sends a clear message.

Henry has been successful at different times as a coach but a glance at his career shows he has struggled to get teams to peak after initial success.

When he left the Blues they were on the way down. It was the same with Wales. And after winning the first test against the Wallabies in 2001, the series was lost.

The trend continued this year with the All Blacks.

And in that sense I don't think Henry is doing his own reputation or legacy any good by seemingly remaining in the battle for the All Blacks job.

On a brighter note, the contestability decision has opened up the way for Robbie Deans to put his name forward for the job.

He is certainly the man I would appoint.

The only other contenders are Colin Cooper and perhaps Steve Hansen.

The problem Hansen has is his limited success and time as a head coach. He had one year with Canterbury and two with Wales. That is not enough head coaching experience to take on a position like the All Blacks.

The best thing he could do now is coach a Super 14 team for four years and then look to come back into the All Blacks mix in 2012.

Cooper is a no-nonsense, strong forwards coach. He's done some pretty good things with the Hurricanes and before that with the Crusaders and Taranaki.

Many of the public believe All Blacks know all there is to know about the game when they first wear the black jersey but that simply is not the case.

All Blacks players are in need of very strong technical coaches, particularly around forward play.

Cooper has proven he can do that and he is a coach and selector who would enhance the All Blacks panel.

And I would hope if he decides not to stand for the top job he would consider working as Deans' assistant.

I support John Sturgeon's assertion in last week's Sunday News that the All Blacks had too many coaches and too many theories floating around in their heads.

When they came under pressure they reverted to playing like individuals a sure sign of uncertainty in their minds about their game plan and playing as a team.

I always found that when I was coaching the All Blacks the lions' share of work had to be done by me, with an assistant coach to take either the backs or the forwards whoever I wasn't working with.

Specialist coaches were only brought in when they were needed.

Robbie Deans has a similar philosophy.

The All Blacks, now more than ever, need a coach who knows where he's going and how to get there without the need to consult a raft of assistants and specialist coaches.

Deans is his own man.

Let's hope he's the All Blacks' man as well.

 

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