Henry under pressure ahead of Deans showdown
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Under the microscope: Graham Henry. (Reuters: Charles Platiau)
Former Wallabies captain John Eales has questioned New Zealand's decision to reappoint coach Graham Henry after the All Blacks' failure at last year's World Cup.
Eales said he was surprised New Zealand stuck with Henry instead of opting for Robbie Deans, who took on the job of coaching the Australians after missing out on the All Blacks' position.
The two coaches will confront each other at the Olympic stadium on Saturday in an intriguing twist to a Test match that could play a decisive role in determining this year's Tri-Nations title.
Media criticism of Henry mounted in New Zealand after his team's 30-28 loss to South Africa in Dunedin two weeks ago and Eales said he was clearly under far more pressure than Deans, who is still in the honeymoon period with the Wallabies.
"I think Graham Henry's a wonderful coach... but it (last year's World Cup failure) would have been playing on people's minds," Eales told a luncheon in Sydney.
"I think it adds a bit more pressure on him than it does on Robbie."
Henry has been keeping a low-profile in the build-up to the match, opting to keep his team in New Zealand until last night rather than travel earlier to Australia to acclimatise.
New Zealand have had mixed results in Australia when they have stayed at home to train before but stand-in captain Rodney So'oialo said it would not be a factor in this weekend's match.
"I don't think it matters too much. It's the mental side of it that matters," he told the New Zealand Press Association.
"Travelling later in the week is a good thing. It's not a big trip."
Despite the criticism, New Zealand will still go into the match as slight favourites after winning six of their last seven Tests against the Wallabies and holding the Bledisloe Cup for the past five seasons.
The Australians believe they are slowly closing the gap on their Trans-Tasman rivals.
They ended a sequence of five defeats with a 20-15 win in Melbourne last year and have shown encouraging signs of improvement this season as Deans ushers in a new generation of players.
-Reuters
