Quinn: Henry plays ignorant 

Source: PhotosportAll Blacks coach Graham Henry

Whoops! Did All Blacks coach Graham Henry really say he did not look at the replay of the Dan Carter head-high tackle on Welshman Martin Roberts during Sunday morning's Test in Cardiff?

If that is accurate reporting then I have to say Mr Henry is derelict in his duties as a representative of decency in the New Zealand version of playing a decent game.

The moment the incident occurred, towards the end of the All Blacks 19-12 win, I knew there would be 'hell to pay' afterwards. It's like that in Wales. The fact that they haven't beaten New Zealand at rugby for 56 years lifted the outrage and disappointment among the crowd. When Dan Carter came across the field and clunked poor Roberts with a swinging forearm jolt thereafter Carter was booed til the end of the game.

Please don't start your immediate automatic Kiwi defence of Dan Carter. I know too that he is a good lad who has rightly earned a reputation for being a fair and decent rugby player. I cannot conceive that he would plan a foul as he approached that tackle. But it was nonetheless a dangerous tackle and as such the crowd were correct to vent their ire at him and the non-seeing referee Craig Joubert.

And it was correct that Carter was cited afterwards.

My issue is not about the tackle and its rights or wrongs. Rather it is with the bland, nay blind adherence to team loyalty which came from Graham Henry when he said he never looked at the replay.

Firstly I find that hard to believe. He was sitting comfortably in the stands, he has a TV set a couple of feet from his face (which from the TV match coverage he appears to look at heaps of times), and at Cardiff there are TWO giant TV screens which the crowd can also see and react to.

Wouldn't Mr Henry have wondered what they were on about when the passionate Welsh started hootin' and hollerin' when they saw the multiple replays of the Carter tackle repeated over and over? Is it not the duty of Mr Henry to be alert to everything that goes on in a game?

His reaction reminds me of the late Jack Gleeson and Russell Thomas when they were in charge of the All Blacks in Bridged, Wales in 1978. They were both good men but they said, for days after an All Black John Ashworth stomped on the head of the star Welsh fullback J.P.R.Williams, that they had not seen the incident. How could they say that? It led every BBC and ITV news bulletin for the rest of that week.

Yes, I understand allegiance to one's mates and all that but common sense should have prevailed. If Mr Henry didn't see the Carter incident then he should have made a point of seeing it. Then he could have offered something more believable than the arrogance of his immediate negative comment.

And if he seen the incident; why not gho to the press conference and say, 'yep, I saw it; Dan's a good bloke but we'll see what happens in the judiciary, now - next question.'

Simple as the Mr Henry, sir.

A final point, let's put in another way; if in the same game New Zealand's much-loved hero Dan Carter had have been flying for a try and a Welsh defender had come from nowhere and wrapped a coat-hanger tackle around our Dan's neck would Mr Henry have seen it?

Thank you, I rest my case.

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mwadsworth ; 2009-11-11 @ 10:11 NZDT  

well to be honest I dont give a damn if graham said he didnt see it, what diffrence does it make, mayby he just got sick of all the media so he said those those things in frustration. who wouldn't find it anyoing having mic's in ur face about such a thrashed issue cause I don't even think they would play carter anyway.

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orange276 ; 2009-11-11 @ 07:13 NZDT  

Not that I'm defending Mr Henry but I was probably a knee jerk reaction at the time. What I don't understand it why a number of Walsh players weren't cited as well. Especially the chap that kicked the poor old half back in the head. Didn't Colin Meads get sent off for the same thing? Also what about one of the trys that was disallowed as a knock on. The walsh player was playing it on the ground that the very minimum that should have been a penalty try as it was a professional foul.

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sp8sguy ; 2009-11-10 @ 17:49 NZDT  

Fair is fair no one is above the law but timing to cite is a bit strange as I thought it could only be 12 hrs after the game. And if the commisioner is impartial, where is the citing for the welsh player who kicked Leonard in the head forcing him from the field? Guess it depends on who is broadcasting the game!

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zikivi ; 2009-11-10 @ 10:43 NZDT  

yeah definitely there are double standards in refereeing if this was a high tackle on an all black player then wow !!. tmo ruling should be allowed on incidents like this. teams should allow 1 challenge per 1/2 for duobtful referees call like in tennis

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MB ; 2009-11-10 @ 09:59 NZDT  

Can the sporting media please find a new term of abuse for Graham Henry than "arrogant"? The word has an actual meaning, and it is not "didn't win the World Cup". Carter's citing seems to be a result of the UK media's (and Warren Gatland's) complaints - not the tackle itself. It was high - and worth a penalty - but not a yellow card. Suggestions by the Welsh coaching staff that a RED card was warranted suggest a desire to influence the judicial process. THAT is arrogant.

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