KEY POINTS:
He finally said it: "Mistake."
That was reappointed All Black coach Graham Henry's final assessment of the reconditioning policy that saw the bulk of the All Blacks' World Cup squad withdrawn from much of the Super 14.
Disaster might seem a more appropriate term for a strategy that deprived the All Blacks of match fitness, alienated fans and sponsors and handed crucial momentum to South Africa. But, for Henry, who had originally stood by all of his World Cup strategies, mistake was quite a climbdown.
"I think in hindsight it was probably a mistake," he conceded after being returned to his position by a 7-1 vote of the NZRU board. "I'll rephrase that, in hindsight it was a mistake."
Steve Tew, the NZRU chief executive-designate who also favoured reconditioning, wasn't quite as ready to resile from thepolicy.
"The counter to that is that you've had the All Black captain come out and say that if it hadn't have been for the reconditioning programme he would not be playing rugby in New Zealand in 2008," Tew interjected as Henry spoke at his re-coronation yesterday.
"Some of his colleagues would have been in the same boat."
Tew said it was still important to find a way to give players time off to freshen up both mentally and physically.
It is doubtful, however, that the Super 14 will again be considered the appropriate time for a break.
Henry's shift suggests he has mellowed since the All Blacks' quarter-final defeat in Cardiff. He admitted he had been "naive" in expecting to be reappointed without having to reapply for his job. He wasn't, however, overly keen to discuss what he referred to as the "Cardiff situation".
"We didn't play as well as we'd hoped, the French played well and we didn't get the bounce of the ball. To elaborate further on that would be a negative.
"The important thing is that we must retain our dignity as a country, as New Zealanders."
Henry was at pains to thank the New Zealand public for their support despite the negative media coverage surrounding his future.
Winning jobs back for himself and assistants Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen had been a tremendous relief: "Relief that this group of people that I have got very close to have another opportunity to further develop the All Blacks. There is unfinished work to be done and we want to finish that work."
He was not, however, looking beyond his new two-year term to the next World Cup.
"Obviously there was a disappointment about the Cardiff situation. We were very disappointed and very sorry that we couldn't bring that cup home for New Zealanders.
"But the support of the people we work with has been outstanding. If we didn't have that support, we wouldn't have applied."
Henry said he was improving as a coach and under his guidance the All Blacks would "continue to push out the boundaries of how the game is played".
While he may have conceded the point on the reconditioning window, he stood by his much-maligned rotation policy.
The demands of a 15-test-match season meant it was necessary to manage player welfare, he said.
"The objective is to pick a team to win a test match and that hasn't changed. That has always been the objective.
"We think every test is important. We've always had that view and I guess that's why we've got the record we've got."
Despite the stress of being made to reapply for his job, he had never contemplated quitting.
"I've got the disease, I think. I've got the passion to coach. I love coaching. I think I can make a difference."
