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international
Sir Graham Henry shed more light on how All black people respond to their Greatest Rivalry series loss to the Springboks.
The former head coach returned to the All Blacks camp in a coaching role under Dave Rennie in 2026, spending time with the squad in their weeks in New Zealand. Catching up with the group during the recent Bledisloe Cup series, which the Kiwis comfortably won, Henry noted some changes from the way the group operated before they left for South Africa.
While the All Blacks won their opening games against South Africa’s URC teams and the first Test against the Springboks, they ended Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour with three straight defeats and watched Siya Kolisi lift the RGR trophy.
Rennie strongly emphasized the value of the lessons learned on the seven-week tour, and Henry shared his take on them in a sit-down interview with Martin Devlin this week.
“Oh, they’ve learned a huge amount from the South Africa tour. Probably the biggest thing they’ve learned is that they have to practice with the intensity and physicality that they play with,” Henry explained on DSPN.
“And there are some excuses because there was between the first and second test Lions game in Johannesburg on Tuesday. So it wasn’t ideal preparation for the second Test as it was, for lack of a better word, hampered by the Lions’ play.
“And so I think the big thing is that guys now understand that they have to train, sometimes, with the same intensity as the game. It’s physicality. It’s speed. And it leaves you vulnerable; we lose the odd guy in training to injury, which is very irritating.
“And honestly, I don’t think they do that at any other level. So it’s a new experience for these guys … and I think it’s been a huge change.”
“The other thing I think, and it takes time, is the decision makers, the guys who run the game on the field and the coaches who coach the game are getting tighter and tighter, and I think they’re getting tighter and tighter. It’s a new group of coaches, not necessarily a new group of players, but they’ve gotten closer and they’re communicating better and understanding each other.”
“I’m extremely impressed with the group. They make me feel very welcome. I feel very privileged to be there. I’ve just been blown away by the quality of individuals in that group, all the way.”
As well as training intensity, Henry says the All Blacks’ fitness levels must continue to improve. Rennie has been openly beating that drum consistently in 2026, knowing the style of play he wants to achieve in time for next year Rugby World Cup is fast and furious.
“Now, our fitness level wasn’t high enough,” added Henry. “Well, not for the game we want to play. The game we play is very demanding, physically; they work all the time. What was it, 50 minutes or so of game time (in the last Bledisloe Test)? It’s usually in the early 30s.
“It’s amazing what this team is trying to do, but it’s taking its toll and you’ve got to be bloody fit. I’m not saying they’ve been unfit, but to play the game that Dave Rennie and the coaches want to play, you’ve got to be in great aerobic shape as well as strong and so on. So strength and conditioning is huge.”
