Leinster’s Graham Henry: ‘If you always say ‘how can we score from here?’ That’s a good mentality’
WITH GPS TRACKERS in place, a well-measured basket of recovery food and drink by the sideline and drones hovering overhead to record every shape and re-shape; Leinster trained in Greystones today with a valuable piece of 70-year-old technology to complement the new.
Graham Henry walked silently behind the play, man-marking Girvan Dempsey for a time, switching to Leo Cullen later and stood well back while the entire training squad huddled together before dispersing to satisfy the summer holiday autograph hunters.
When shaking hands, Henry is quick to shrug off his knighthood. Graham will do, Ted feels overfamiliar, but maybe not to the Kiwi. The important thing is improving Leinster’s performance by ensuring the inexperienced coaching staff get a steer – either to underline where they’re going right, or giving advice on what he would do differently.
The secondary aim is improving the players’ habits and patterns.
“It’s an old cliché that you do the basics well and the rest will fall in to place,” Henry says in the middle of the Dr Hickey Park pitch, perhaps still feeling the effects of jet-lag after his weekend arrival.
“I think if they can improve that particular skill they’ll get better results and score more tries.”
Scoring tries is a common reminder Henry has issued to teams who’ve called for his services. Since leaving the All Blacks in the tickertape glory of a World Cup win in Auckland he went to Argentina to set them on a path to the brilliant rugby they played last year
“The game is about scoring tries,” he says of his time with the Pumas.
Robbie Henshaw takes a selfie with a young fan. Source: Gary Carr/INPHO
“Every time you’re in a situation – a set-piece, breakdown or maul – you’re saying: ‘how can we score from here?’
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