Rivalry between Henry and Connolly goes back a long way

John Connolly (left) and Graham Henry.

They guided two of the great rugby provinces in the early 90s, Auckland and Queensland, before their coaching expertise, exasperation and wanderlust took them to Europe.

Graham Henry returned to lead the All Blacks in a culmination of his masterplan, while John Connolly's rise to Wallaby supremo was a more haphazard exercise.

Connolly was less ambitious. Three times he was overlooked for the Wallaby job and, after coaching stints in France, Wales and England, he was content to settle back into life on the Sunshine Coast.

This winter his schedule had him going to grounds in Eumundi, Beerwah, Kondallila and Yandina in an assistant coaching role with the Nambour Toads.

"I was going to help out with their country rugby team. It would have been in about Z division but I was happy with that," Connolly says.

Tomorrow night though, in Christchurch, Connolly is moving into the A league, the Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations series which are as tough as any competition in world rugby.

The All Blacks test against the Wallabies pitches Graham "Ted" Henry against John "Knuckles" Connolly, their first meeting since 1998 when the Reds belted the Blues 33-18 at Ballymore.

While Connolly distances himself from any personal duel with Henry, there is a fascination in the two foes of yesteryear resuming their rivalry.

There was an immediate spark to that resumption when Connolly duped some media commentators into believing he knew the All Black side by the weekend and that Mils Muliaina would shift to centre.

He knew nothing of the sort but Connolly, a man familiar with the machinations of the media, used the chance to create a little doubt this side of the Tasman, to distract anyone around the All Blacks who took any notice of the alleged leak.

Just standard fare for Connolly, who is known for his repartee, betting fervour, practical jokes and the sort of windup that had one Australian newspaper recently reporting that Rocky Elsom might be a backup test goalkicker. It was another case of Connolly larking about.

He has a knockabout reputation and a nickname from the days when he was a bouncer in Mt Isa and outside Brisbane nightclubs.

He was a feisty front-row forward until he turned to coaching in Darwin more than a quarter of a century ago and then graduated into the Brisbane club scene and Queensland.

Like the State of Origin cousins' remarkable series win this week, Connolly was able to get Queensland into the frame of mind where it was them against the world.

He worked on the players' minds to create that siege mentality, which then accrued some unlikely wins.

He had a fair squad with icons like John Eales, David Wilson, Tim Horan and Jason Little and the intrigue will be how he works in this new era with the Wallabies. Connolly has already aped some of the All Black schemes, bringing in an array of assistant and specialist coaches as he looks to beef up the Wallaby pack to complement the lustrous backline.

"What John Connolly brings in along with himself and two new coaches is a whole new environment," All Black assistant Steve Hansen says.

"Eddie Jones in his own right was a very good coach but he had been there a long time and perhaps the environment was starting to get a little stale and you've got a guy coming in who has spent the last few years in the UK."

He would bring an edge and would be keen to show he should have been appointed some time ago.

Connolly should have been chosen as Wallaby coach in 1995 but lost out to politics which demanded a NSW appointment. Then he lost out in a decent scrap with Rod Macqueen two years later.

This year Macqueen was part of the panel that appointed him.

"I don't think about it too much," Connolly said yesterday. "I was lucky to get the Queensland job in October 1988 ahead of Alec Evans [scrum guru for the Wallabies] so it is swings and roundabouts."

Connolly and Henry met in the early days of the Super 10, both men carving out solid coaching credentials while by day Henry was a headmaster and Connolly was a manager for a freight company.

Henry, at 60, is six years older than his bulkier counterpart and has a similar lead in international experience.

But Connolly, with premiership title wins in France and England, has plenty of experience in his coaching bank.

"We met each other socially," said Connolly, "but I never felt it was a coaching battle because both of us had been in the game for some time.

"We'd grown up with the game, our sides had great battles and it was a good era for both provinces.

"I don't think I have ever thought it was a coach-versus-a-coach issue. It is province against province, country against country and, as an individual, I have never thought of it as being a personal contest, ever."

Where Henry in his public appearances can be sarcastic, with edges of black humour and impatience, a man who still appears as though he wants to spend every moment analysing the game or coming up with another scheme, Connolly is more laidback.

His low-level speaking tone scarcely wavers, he mixes in some humour and has a better defence than Allan Border about any difficult issues.

He still defends his corner but with more subtlety these days. He and Henry both do, showing the advantage of the past 15 years in the spotlight.

You know that, despite their softer public image, they still have the ruthless edge needed to survive at the very top.

Connolly laughingly describes himself as an overseer, someone who helps out and carries the bags others don't want to, but longtime Queensland rugby observer and player Dan Crowley, now a board member, expects Connolly will be a "democratic dictator".

"At the end of the day everybody will have their input but John will do what he wants to do."