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He has come back into the All Blacks set-up in a surprise announcement
Sir Graham Henry has made return to the All Blacks with a new role.
Henry, who turns 80 next month, was previously New Zealand’s head coach between 2004 and 2011, with his stint including a Rugby World Cup win.
He previously spent four years as head coach with Wales, before departing in 2002, with that reign including a spell in charge of a British and Irish Lions tour.
He has now made a surprise return to the set-up as an All Blacks selector, with the move confirmed by current head coach Dave Rennie in a press conference on Tuesday.
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“We’re really excited to bring Ted in as a selector,” Rennie said.
Rennie says conversations were held with several possible candidates, with Sir Graham’s work around leadership and culture believed to have been a key part of discussions.
“I’ve had a number of chats with him…just to get my head around the legacy and all the work he did around leadership, and what he found and what he learned in his time as the All Blacks coach,” Rennie added .
“He did talk about the impact that Sir Brian Lochore had when he was coaching the All Blacks as a selector, and so it sort of got me thinking.”
“He’s very passionate,” he added.
“He loves the jersey. He watches a lot of rugby, and he’s got pretty strong opinions on players.
“When I rang, I said, ‘what have you been seeing’, and he said, ‘I thought you might ask that question’, so he had about 60 players he wanted to talk about, which is very much Teddy.
“We’re hoping that, you know, with his eye, he may see something a little bit different to us, which will help get the right people within the squad.”
The news comes ahead of three big games this summer, as part of the inaugural Nations Championship.
New Zealand will take on France in Christchurch on July 4, before facing Italy and Ireland.
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