All Blacks: Past failures still in Henry's mind

All Black coach Graham Henry. Photo / Getty Images

Graham Henry quipped when announcing the All Blacks World Cup squad last week that he didn't remember the 2007 tournament.

He was being disingenuous, because Henry well remembers what happened four years ago and admitted yesterday their failure in Cardiff has shaped a lot of how they will approach the World Cup this time around.

Henry is in a unique position. He is the only All Blacks coach to get two shots at a World Cup. Previous coaches have been jettisoned or walked away but Henry was given another chance by his NZRU paymasters.

He was known as the Great Redeemer during his time as Wales coach and would love nothing more than to be viewed in a similar light in eight weeks.

He will be joined by 10 players who also took part four years ago and they are determined to learn from history.

"In 2007 we focussed on one game at a time,'' Henry said at the official unveiling of the 30-man squad in Auckland today.

"We did that because on grand slam tours that was the recipe we used. We didn't look at achieving a grand slam one month prior. It was one game at a time.

"Just talking with the senior players and management, we believe we need to dissect the Rugby World Cup and what's happened since 1987 and why the All Blacks haven't been successful. And have a very good look at 2007. Hopefully we can learn from the past. I'm sure there are some big learnings there.

"I think once we get to the round robin we need to set some goals there and what we want to achieve. Obviously [we want to] qualify and qualify well. Then [we will] look at the sudden death games. We haven't been good at sudden death football for some time so we need to have a special mentality playing those games.Quarter-final, semifinal and final, we need to have a special mentality to handle that.''

One of their failings of 2007 was their inability to match the passion and emotion of the French, a side they had twice beaten convincingly only three months previously and hammered 47-3 in Lyon in November 2006. They didn't want to use up too much emotional energy against France in the quarter-final, believing they needed to keep some in reserve for the bigger games that lay ahead.

It's something they immediately regretted and something they've stewed over for four years. It's also something they won't avoid talking about and senior players have taken it upon themselves to educate some of the younger members of the squad what the pain of defeat feels like.

"Those are the sorts of experiences you have to go through to have answers if things get tough and don't go your way,'' captain Richie McCaw said. "What we have been through over the last four years, personally and as a team, hopefully what gets chucked at us we will have an answer for.

"The World Cup... is the biggest challenge you can have. We've played Tri Nations and end-of-year tour games but this is something different. People that are around and the feeling that goes with it, you have to do it absolutely dead right if you are going to give yourselves a chance. That's a lesson a few of us have experienced and the guys who haven't been there before have to understand.''

It will help the All Blacks that they will play at home. The pressure will be enormous but it will also help focus minds.

"I think we have to enjoy the challenge,'' Henry said. "One of the special qualities of New Zealand rugby is the expectations of the New Zealand public, and I don't think there is any greater expectation in rugby than the expectations on the All Blacks. That's why they have been so successful. They are the most successful side in this history of professional sport and that's something we should be very proud of. That's a result of the expectation of four-and-a-half New Zealanders. There will be huge expectations on this team.

"What happens in the next eight weeks is going to define this team.''

If the All Blacks win, people will certainly remember that.