Listen: Sir Graham Henry talks farming and footy

Sir Graham Henry. Photo / Doug Sherring

Sir Graham Henry popped in to The Country's HQ for a chat about how dairy farmers and All Blacks have more similarities than meets the eye.

The former All Blacks coach is a keynote speaker at the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE)
taking place in Dunedin today. He spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay about his rural connections.

"My father's father was a blacksmith, my eldest son married a dairy farmer's daughter, so [I'm] highly connected - and I've got a great vegetable garden."

In his speech at the SIDE conference, Henry alludes to the connection between the All Blacks and dairy farmers, saying they're both "high performing industries."

"The All Blacks are trying to be the best in the world, and I guess New Zealand dairy farmers are also trying to achieve that goal."

Leadership and adversity also feature in Henry's speech, and he refers to learning from mistakes and moving forward from past experiences. A good example from his own career is being reappointed as All Blacks coach after the 2007 World Cup and going on to win the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

"2007 was a very big learning experience for the All Blacks. We had the right culture at that stage, but we didn't have the mental strength to do the job, and I think that's been a big learning from that 2007 experience and now the All Blacks are probably one of the strongest teams mentally in world sport."

Currently Sir Graham Henry is a trustee on The Plunket Foundation and is helping to raise money for disadvantaged children through a national lottery. Find out more here - plunketlottery.org.nz

Also in today's interview: Sir Graham Henry praises Richie McCaw, talks about changing the culture of the All Blacks and who his mentors were growing up.

Listen below: