Henry: 'ABs had huge hearts'
Sat, 16 Aug 2008 18:06
Graham Henry: Gleaming with pride over his courageous team
Shortly after the All Blacks' 19-0 win over the Springboks in Saturday's Tri-Nations clash at Newlands, Kiwi coach Graham Henry attributed "courage and character" to their resounding victory.
A hapless performance from the hosts saw the All Blacks ensue their dominance at the contact areas, lead emphatically at the front by none other than their captain Richie MacCaw - who put on yet another sterling show, despite being in obvious pain in the latter stages of the game.
"Richie McCaw played the last 20 minutes with a rib injury," coach Henry said, just minutes after full-time.
"It just shows the bravery of the guy, and the team. The guys played with huge courage, huge hearts - we lasted very well."
With the pivotal Carter at the forefront of much of the All Blacks' attacking phases, he uncharacteristically missed a host of penalty opportunities - which fortunately for the All Blacks had no bearing on the overall result.
"I think it's a good experience for him [Carter] to miss a couple [of penalties]," said Henry.
"We hung in, scored some tries and he kicked a couple of conversions.
"Looking forward, that would be good for him because that was a good situation to face."
Considering the pressure the visitors faced leading up to this encounter - the All Blacks certainly came to the party, despite the amount of relative inexperience within the side.
"This is a young group, half the side didn't go to the World Cup last year."
"I think it [the victory] speaks volumes for their character and their togetherness, and the leadership of the leaders in the team," said Henry.
With the All Blacks now sitting comfortably on top of the Tri-Nations standings with 14 points, Henry was not prepared to lay down the stakes as overall winners just yet.
"The Tri-Nations [title] is still a long way to go," said Henry.
"I hope South Africa play very well next week. They weren't very good [today]," he added.
By Nick Pawson
