All Blacks: Henry says England champs at wasting talent

The All Blacks' World Cup-winning coach Sir Graham Henry has described England as "world champions at wasting talent" and as playing a game based on fear.

Henry guided New Zealand to victory last October in stark contrast to England who endured a miserable World Cup, crashing out in the quarter-finals with their campaign marred by off-field incidents.

He told therugbysite.com that England has top-drawer attacking players but they are seldom used.

"It sometimes seems that England are world champions at wasting talent.

"At national level and at club level English teams are far too worried about securing possession.

"No wonder England had trouble scoring tries against the better teams at the World Cup."

He singled out Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Delon Armitage as players who have impressed him but believes they may never reach their potential.

"A country with over a million players should be the best team in the world and England's potential in the backs is as good as it has ever been.

"But how frustrated those players must get in a white shirt.

"England and the English clubs played a game based on fear and a generation of promising backs are dying on their feet.

"That has to change."

Henry went on to describe the attitude to quick possession as a fundamental difference between the English approach to rugby and that of his homeland.

"We want quick ball in New Zealand and so we concentrate on dominating the space beyond the ball carrier. We want our supporting players to get under the opposition and to move them backwards. We flood past the ball to create good possession for our strike runners."

AAP