Former All Blacks boss Graham Henry also hit the headlines earlier this year when some light-hearted comments were widely reported © Getty Images

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News: Henry blasts talent-wasting England

Teams: England | New Zealand

Sir Graham Henry has launched a tongue-in-cheek attack on English rugby by labelling it a "shambles" at a speaking engagement in Auckland.

Henry, who steered New Zealand to the Rugby World Cup crown last year, was reportedly addressing several hundred guests at Auckland's TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre when the comments were made. The New Zealand Herald also reports that Henry suggested England should "self-destruct and start again". His light-hearted assault also included an observation that England, "are the height of arrogance ... really up themselves."

The comments, directed at an England fan as part of a Q&A session, appear based on England's disastrous World Cup campaign that was littered with discipline issues as the side have since experienced resurgence under new coach Stuart Lancaster who led the side to a second place finish in this year's Six Nations.

Henry, who launched a more direct attack on England two months ago in which he called them the "world champions at wasting talent", stressed after the event that he did not want his comments published but an organiser of the event said the 65-year-old was an experienced public speaker who knew the media "could be there and would be there".

This is not the first time that Henry has hit the headlines following a speaking engagement. Earlier this year, Henry told guests at a function in Napier that if New Zealand had failed to win the World Cup he "would have been in the south of France smoking marijuana and drinking red wine."

Henry retired after the All Blacks' World Cup success, ending an eight-year coaching tenure during which he won 83 of his 105 Test matches. He now works for the New Zealand Rugby Union as a mentor to high-performance coaches and is also set to work as a consultant for Argentina ahead of their entry into The Rugby Championship.