All Blacks coach Dave Rennie brings back Sir Graham Henry as co-selector

Tuesday, 12 May 2026

Ted is back. Sir Graham Henry has made a surprise return to the All Blacks, with new head coach Dave Rennie confirming the legendary World Cup winner had been installed as a co-selector for the 2026 season.

Rennie told reporters in Auckland on Tuesday he had asked for Henry to join him on the selection panel, along with chief assistant coach Neil Barnes, and believed the veteran mentor, who guided the All Blacks from 2004-11, was a key addition to the setup.

Henry, 79, led the All Blacks to the long-awaited 2011 World Cup triumph on home soil before his assistant, Sir Steve Hansen, took over and went back to back with the bulk of the same group.

Rennie said he believed Henry still had plenty to offer as an astute judge of rugby talent and confirmed he remained an avid follower of the game.

“I’m really excited to bring Ted in as a selector,” the All Blacks coach told a posse of media at NZ Rugby HQ in Auckland on Tuesday. “I’ve had a number of chats to him even prior to applying for the job, just to get my head around the legacy, and all the work he did around leadership, what he found, and what he learnt in his time as the All Blacks coach.

“He talked about the impact Sir Brian Lochore had when he (Henry) was coaching the All Blacks as a selector, and that sort of got me thinking.

“He’s very passionate, he loves the jersey, he watches a lot of rugby, and he’s got pretty strong opinions on players. The conversations we’ve had have been brilliant. Him coming in as someone from outside the group, watching, we thought was a really good fit.”

Rennie saw Sir Graham as a much-needed independent voice from outside the coaching group, and confirmed the long-serving coach was very much across the detail required to fill the selector’s role.

“I messaged him and said we’d catch up tomorrow just for a chat. When I rung, I said what have you been seeing? He said, ‘I thought you might ask that question’ and he had about 60 players he wanted to talk about. Which is very much Ted.

“He’s an avid watcher of the game. That’s important to us. We’re hoping with his eye he may see something a little bit different to us, which will help get the right people within the squad.”

And the new coach also saw Henry as an ideal sounding board for himself as he eases his way into the job.

“He’s such a good man, a lot of experience, and wise,” added Rennie. “He’s been in this position. It will be great to have him to bounce things off.”

Rennie confirmed himself and senior assistant Barnes would be the other members of the selection panel, though all of the coaches would feed their views through them into the process.

In terms of this tricky transition period juggling two jobs as he guides the Japan League One’s Kobelco Kobe Steelers from top qualifying spot into the looming playoffs (they are on a bye week before finals get under way next week), the new All Blacks boss said it was a “manageable” process.

“I’ve been busy. Our boys have gone well in Japan. We’ve just finished the round-robin on top, and then we don’t have to play in the quarters, which is nice. Then there will be a couple of weeks after that before I come back.

“The time-zone difference helps. I get up early in the morning, connect with people over here, get things sorted and then get on with my day job. I’m looking forward to having one job.

“We’ve had staff come over to Japan as well. The coaches have all been over. It’s been great, we’re getting in a lot of planning in detail, we’ve had the analysts over, and I’ve been over here in bye weeks.”

In terms of what will essentially be a 10-day lead-in to the Nations Championship opener against France in Christchurch, Rennie said he simply had to make it work as “enough” time.

“We’re doing a lot of work. We’re trying to simplify things, take a lot of the language out, and we’re going to utilise some of the similar language (to last year) so we’re not changing everything and guys are confused.

“We’ve just got to prioritise what that 10 days looks like to ensure we have a game good enough to beat the French, and then grow it over the next few months.”