Argentina sign Graham Henry as Advisor to Argentina

With all the speculation surrounding the next England rugby coach recently, it appears that a rather impressive move has gone under the radar. On Wednesday the Argentina Rugby Union made the surprise announcement that Graham Henry would be given a one year contract to assist and mentor Argentina’s top coaches. He will be doing so both at age grade levels and with the Senior International side. Given that Argentina replaced Marcelo Loffreda with a very green coach in Santiago Phelan a few years ago... this can only be considered good news for ‘Las Pampas’.  He brings vast technical knowledge and a great understanding of how to put structures in place, which can enable greater success.  His role apparently will be to ‘give coaches an insight into what is required to create a national programme that will lead to a more competitive national team’.  For any league fans out there, the role is reminiscent of when Wayne Bennett assisted Stephen Kearney and the Kiwis during the last Rugby League World Cup.

It seems like the news has been well received in all quarters. Current Argentina coach Santiago Phelan has said: “it makes me very happy that Henry is joining us. He’s coming to work with us and make our play better”. Henry’s move to an international competitor also appears to have the blessing of the NZ rugby union (despite having so recently coach New Zealand). NZRU performance manager Don Tricker claimed that “Sir Graham takes up his role with the NZRU’s blessing and it’s a real positive not only for him but for Argentinian rugby as well”. Henry (whose contract ended following World Cup Victory) had coached the All Blacks to 88 wins in 103 tests for a winning percentage of 85.4 percent - A truly remarkable set of stats.

I for one am really looking forward to see what impact he can make with Argentina in this year’s Four Nations. We need more competitive teams and Argentina’s passion and skill could eventually lead them to being one of the major powerhouses in International rugby. Good luck.