New Zealand Rugby
All Blacks gamble on coaching reshuffle
Scrum.com
October 18, 2009

It's all change for the All Blacks, and not just in the playing staff. Four new caps were named by Graham Henry for their end-of-year tour but all talk was of a reshuffle in the coaching staff.

Assistants Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith will be swapping jobs, Hansen shifting from forwards to attack and Smith accepting defensive duties. Henry himself inherits the forwards role after previously running the defence.

Having not worked with a pack for some time, Henry has taken on the challenge of salvaging the All Blacks' malfunctioning lineout.

The trio insisted that the change was not a response to criticism after a difficult 2009 and also revealed that the idea had been approved by skipper Richie McCaw and other senior All Blacks.

The idea was first suggested earlier in the year according to Henry, who believes that the change could freshen up their approach as they head on tour.

"They're excited about it. Also, it's good for us," Henry said. "We'll be really tight on what we're doing and work together, it's good to experience another role in the side. If you're a bit nervous about it, it brings the best out of you.

"It's good for me to have that challenge. I've got energy, I'm excited about that opportunity and I'll be using a lot of the knowledge of the forward pack to help, which I think will be good for them."

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