Netball: Raewyn gets in on the act

By SUZANNE McFADDEN

If Graham Henry is the Great Redeemer of Welsh rugby, will his wife be the Joan of Arc of Welsh netball?

Raewyn Henry has signed up as coach of the Welsh national netball side, following in the strides of her husband.

The New Zealand couple have set Welsh sport alight since they packed up and moved to the Northern Hemisphere more than a year ago.

Graham Henry lifted the Red Dragons from wooden-spooners in the Five Nations to quarter-finalists at last month's World Cup.

Now Raewyn Henry wants to lift the Welsh ranking from 14th in the netball world to match the likes of third-ranked England.

There is one big difference between their jobs - Graham gets paid over $3 million over five years, while Raewyn does not get a bean. The netball job is voluntary.

She has been coaching county and club teams in Cardiff since joining her husband in Wales last November.

"I'm passionate about the sport and I wanted the job because I was keen to help netball in any way I could," said the 50-year-old Henry, who coached the Auckland netball side at the 1998 national championships before heading to Wales.

She had retired from teaching at Baradene School in Auckland the year before and became a self-proclaimed "lady of leisure - or a middle-class bum."

Before she left New Zealand, she was still playing social netball. In July last year, she denied that another coaching job was being set up for her in Britain.

Raewyn Henry is not the only Kiwi at the coalface of Welsh netball. Former Silver Ferns coach Leigh Gibbs is the new national performance director for the sport in Wales.

Her position is paid for by substantial funding from the Sports Council for Wales.

"It's an exciting time with Leigh Gibbs' appointment. She'll bring a wealth of experience, and Wales is very lucky to have her," said Henry.

Her first job this week was to select the senior squad from the national trials in Cardiff. She will also be looking at future talent at an under-friendly match against the touring New Zealanders this weekend.

Her main goal for the senior team sounds simple, but may not be so easy.

She said: "I'd like Wales to get to the stage where we can play on more equal terms with teams like England.

"We need to set ourselves realistic goals and achieve them."