WITH GPS TRACKERS in place, a well-measured basket of recovery food and drink by the sideline and drones hovering overhead to record every shape and re-shape; Leinster trained in Greystones today with a valuable piece of 70-year-old technology to complement the new.
Graham Henry walked silently behind the play, man-marking Girvan Dempsey for a time, switching to Leo Cullen later and stood well back while the entire training squad huddled together before dispersing to satisfy the summer holiday autograph hunters.
When shaking hands, Henry is quick to shrug off his knighthood. Graham will do, Ted feels overfamiliar, but maybe not to the Kiwi. The important thing is improving Leinster’s performance by ensuring the inexperienced coaching staff get a steer – either to underline where they’re going right, or giving advice on what he would do differently.
The secondary aim is improving the players’ habits and patterns.
“It’s an old cliché that you do the basics well and the rest will fall in to place,” Henry says in the middle of the Dr Hickey Park pitch, perhaps still feeling the effects of jet-lag after his weekend arrival.
The catch-pass is very important. Not running along the pass, but running into the pass. Running straight lines, passing across the body. You fix defenders and you’re not running at 35 or 45 degree angle. I think that’s a very important part of the game.
“I think if they can improve that particular skill they’ll get better results and score more tries.”
Scoring tries is a common reminder Henry has issued to teams who’ve called for his services. Since leaving the All Blacks in the tickertape glory of a World Cup win in Auckland he went to Argentina to set them on a path to the brilliant rugby they played last year
“The game is about scoring tries,” he says of his time with the Pumas.
“Every time you’re in a situation – a set-piece, breakdown or maul – you’re saying: ‘how can we score from here?’
“If you’re always saying: ‘how can we score tries from here?’ I think that’s a pretty good mentality. And when they’ve got the ball: ‘how do you stop them scoring so you can get it back and score?’
“The Argentinian mentality, I think, was not to lose by too many points. A forward orientated game with a flat back-line whose job was to knock people over. So they’ve changed.”
Changing Leinster’s ethos might not be such a dramatic shift. Though putting the province where they want to be as distinct from where they too often ended up in big games last season would be a job extremely well done from Henry, Cullen and his back-room team.
Outside in
“I think they create opportunities without knowing they’ve created the opportunity,” says the Christchurch man, outlining more of what he’d like to see implemented.
“Recognising the opportunity’s there, setting a structure to take advantage of that…
“And more communication from the outside in: the guys on the outside can see things happening and they need to communicate that information to the playmakers.”
It’s a small window to work within “to make the coaches better” so that Leinster as a team can improve sustainably. Henry, though, has had since May to ponder how he might use his time, and 54 years of coaching experience before that.
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
I agree, whether I’m in a nightclub, pub, at a wedding supermarket, walking the dog, waiting for the train, at the docters, library, anywhere, I always ask myself “how can I score from here? “
Henry did something similar down in Argentina and now look at how good they are with the ball in hand in comparison to Argentine sides of the pre 2011 years.
Cullen & Dempsey asked for this themselves. If you can get a chat with a guy like Henry for a couple of hours over dinner then you’d take it. If you can get him for a couple of weeks then brilliant. It’s up to the two lads to ask the right questions and remember and understand the answers.
Leinster’s basic handling skill have been neglected for 3 seasons now. If we need to employ a coach to tell us to run and pass straight and not drift 30% across the field then we really are bad.
We have a team coached to win collisions rather than coached to score tries.
Henry is just off the plane, he is espousing his general philosophy, not analysing what is or isn’t happening at Leinster. Give it time.
One of Schmidt’s key mantras was getting Leinster to be one of the best passing teams in Europe. He succeeded, but it took time and a lot of effort, so it’s not as simple as ‘employing a coach to tell us to run and pass straight’. I’m sure Henry can bring much more to the table than that too.
I do find it funny how people have turned getting one of the best coaches in world rugby as a consultant into a negative thing though! Ah the Irish rugby fan.
Have to agree with Rascal here, Chris – Leo and Girv are relatively inexperienced coaches, but they are certainly not clueless. Henry is hardly going to give a detailed explanation of his coaching philosophy in a few off the cuff remarks to journalists, either.
I thought Leo did reasonably well in his first year as Head Coach, given how little experienced support he had around him – only McQuilken (50) was proven, and it was no coincidence that Leinster’s defence was by a mile the best aspect of their game last season. There was, I believe, also a substantial RWC hangover – Leinster had 23 players at the tournament
Experienced support of the highest order is what they have brought in here, and it speaks volumes of Cullen’s humility and desire to improve that he requested it. Quite the opposite of the situation that Axel has found himself in (and I do not mean that as a criticism of Foley or Munster – more that Leo was smart enough to learn from others’ misfortune and to actively seek to avoid a similar fate).
Cullen (38), Dempsey (40), Fogarty (38) are all very new to coaching at this level. It seems pretty clear that Henry’s task here is to assess and improve the coaches, not the players. That can only be a good thing. It was announced as a two week stint, although I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the relationship were extended beyond the announced fortnight.
Brian I never said they were clueless but honestly our basic handling skills are poorer than they were 3 years ago.
We play a win the collision/impact game rather than keep the ball alive and move it so we can create and finish chances
Agreed that the ball skills are considerably worse than they were when Schmidt left. Both players and coaches are of a considerably lower standard since, unfortunately, although there are some mitigating circumstances: we lost the best coach Irish rugby has ever had, the two best centres Irish rugby has ever produced, Sexton went to France and has yet to consistently find his groove since returning, Isa (arguably Irish rugby’s greatest import) hung up his boots in his prime (he’s still great, but not what he was), Rob Kearney lost his mojo, and the only decent winger we had was perennially injured (or playing centre!).
All of that being said, there is little doubt that standards slipped dramatically during MOC’s tenure. I think Leo may well be up to the task of bringing those standards back up again (less certain of Girv). The fact that Johnny has had a summer of rest could be the biggest factor ultimately – aside from being our key player, he is also the guy who most drives the standards in the squad.
Brian hopefully Johnny, Cian and Sean all come back after their first summer off in God knows how long refreshed and raring to go.
We have issues in the centre of the pitch teo, Luke and Madigan all gone and rob henshaw is injured.
Hopefully someone will step up and do the job.
I hope we don’t use a stop gap like switching Ferg or Zane and play some of the younger players.
I’m hopeful or a return to the good old days and with a bit of luck and fingers crossed we will
You think Darcy was better than Mike Gibson, Brian?
Arliss – good point; no, I’d have to concede that I don’t think D’Arcy was better than Michael Cameron Henderson Gibson. I think my point probably stands, nonetheless
Chris – I know, centre looks dreadfully thinly stocked. I’d imagine the Luke had been pencilled in as at least cover at 12 – he was excellent there last year. Now or never for Eoin O’Malley: he certainly has the attacking talent.. Can he learn to defend? I suspect not tbh. Tom Daly is going to see quite a lot of rugby, I think, and Ringrose is looking like a relative veteran!
*meant Noel Reid, not Eoin O’Malley. Such a shame we lost O’Malley to injury.
I can’t help but feel a lil more positive about the provinces minus Connacht o course
Ulster have a second season under kiss with him been there from the start this time around plus a few tasty signings
Munster have a new DOR plus D coach
Leinster have henry even if it is for only a few weeks and connacht need to continue their upward curve they havent lost many from their squad plus a new south afrian flyhalf no reason why all the clubs should be aiming for a knockout spot in europe
Sounds good, but you’d have to wonder about Cullen and Dempsey if they’re falling down in the basics. The positive is that the issues are being addressed, but is two weeks long enough? Will Henry be staying in touch afterwards and providing tips?
I hate when a troll slips in below the radar and gains traction like this.
Aww, I take it your not a fan of those terribly amusing panel shows programmes with humorist celebrities. PLEASE everyone take Rugby seriously for Rascal. Now what defensive lineout routines do you envisage him utilising? For league? In Europe?
You’ve lost me, Timmay…
Reminds me of the Steve Staunton/Bobby Robson combination Ireland brought a few years back.
Hopefully Henry doesn’t go and die too