Sir Graham Henry: Springboks are the best in the world by a ‘considerable margin’ as ‘arrogance’ holds All Blacks back
All Blacks dejected after South Africa defeat and Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Sir Graham Henry believes that there is an “arrogance” in New Zealand which is potentially hampering the All Blacks’ chances of success.
Over the past decade, New Zealand have seen South Africa usurp them as the best team in the world, winning back-to-back Rugby World Cups and holding the number one ranking.
That is a far cry from the All Blacks under Henry and Sir Steve Hansen, who claimed successive World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015.
There has been a steady decline since then, culminating in the sacking of head coach Scott Robertson after an underwhelming 2024 and 2025.
Why the Springboks are dominant
That coaching overhaul is in contrast to the Springboks, where Rassie Erasmus has been the main man for the past eight years.
While his backroom team has seen changes, Erasmus has always recruited well and managed the build-up to World Cups impressively.
“You’ve got a very good coaching team,” Henry said of the Boks on the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin. “Tony Brown is probably one of the most innovative coaches in the world.
“He’s (Erasmus) got rotation, and in 2024 I think he played 69 players and we played 38. What he’s doing is developing a lot of competition for places, what he’s doing also is making young guys feel good because they’re getting the opportunity.
“He’s developing a lot of depth, a lot of competition for places and that grows rugby players.
“If you play the same guys all the time, they probably get a wee bit complacent as they’re always going to get picked, but also they can’t keep up that level. It’s far too much rugby; they need rest and rotation.
“He’s played that beautifully. He’s got a lot of players that are paid by overseas countries to play for South Africa and he’s developing them.
“They are the best in the world by a considerable margin right now.”
Henry’s point was contested by Devlin, who stated that the All Blacks also rotated plenty in 2025 and suggested Erasmus was giving caps out “willy-nilly”, but the former New Zealand head coach vehemently disagreed.
“I don’t think Erasmus is handing out Springboks jerseys willy-nilly, I think that’s an arrogant statement. That’s our problem in this country, we’re arrogant about our position in the rugby world,” he said.
“We need to change. If we don’t change, we will not get better.
“It’s not the All Blacks who have got arrogant, it’s the people who administer the game. We just expect to win. We’re not going to win unless we have the right criteria.”
Clarity over arrogance comment
Henry was joined on the show by ex-NZ Rugby chair Brent Impey, who wanted to clarify the All Blacks legend’s point that the team themselves are not arrogant.
Impey also stated that it is not necessarily surprising that New Zealand are not as dominant as they once were given the improvements of the northern hemisphere nations.
“The word arrogant is about as far away from their mental set-up as you could think about. When you’re privileged enough to be invited in, the things that dominate are humility, understanding, guys working together,” he said.
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“Sure, there are disagreements, sure there are arguments, sure there’s tension, but there’s an underlying culture which has stood that team in great stead.
“In terms of expectation, now that the game has become fully professional, I don’t think it is realistic to expect the All Blacks to win every game.
“You’ve got four or five countries now. France is much stronger, England is much stronger, Ireland is another one, so I think we’ve got to set realistic professional goals.”
