Graham Henry: Final Word

After the All Blacks crashed out of the 2007 World Cup, humiliatingly at the quarter-final stage, Graham Henry thought his time as an international rugby coach was up. The NZRU had never reappointed a losing World Cup coach and he couldn’t see why they would make an exception for him.

That is, until he began preparing his coach’s report, which involved a detailed analysis of the video of that fateful quarter-final. What he witnessed caused him initially to throw up, then to reassess his future.

What he uncovered would contribute to his reappointment, which was not without controversy. With his faithful coaching partners Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen, he would weather the storm and go on to make the All Blacks the most successful and entertaining team in the world, bringing absolute joy to the ‘stadium of four million’ when they claimed the Rugby World Cup in 2011, for which Graham would be knighted.
How they rebuilt the All Blacks, establishing a leadership group – the Magnificent Seven – developing the players’ mental strength and preparing for a Dan Carter ‘worst case scenario’ makes enthralling reading.

Although Graham can claim to be rugby’s most successful coach, having maintained an almost unbelievable 83 per cent success rate across four decades and more than 550 matches, there were times, remarkably, when he was almost down and out.
He quit the UK in a state of near depression after the Lions tour flop and a 50-point loss by Wales, and he was devastated by events at Cardiff at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The story of how he rebounded from those traumatic happenings to become the game’s most esteemed coach makes this one of the most gripping sports books ever written.

Author Biography

Sir Graham is collaborating with New Zealand's Bob Howitt. Howitt is New Zealand' s leading rugby writer, the author of 19 books on the game including the bestselling Black – Where It Belongs, the complete record of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.