Sir Graham Henry has announced he's signing off after decades in the biz.
The legendary coach has been a superstar in the rugby world since the late 90s, when he took over as coach for Wales, and later, the British and Irish Lions. In 2004, it was back home to lead the mighty All Blacks to victory in 88 out of 103 tests, infamously surviving defeat by France at the 2007 World Cup quarter-finals, and guiding them to glory in 2011.
Ending his career on a high this past weekend, the Black Ferns mentor said he can't speak highly enough of the women on that squad.
"They're brave! Brave as hell. They stayed in the fight and ended up winning two test matches the past few weeks that could have gone either way," Sir Graham told The Project. "I guess that's a result of them having a hard time in rugby over the years. It hasn't been easy for them."
In his half-century of coaching, he said one lesson he's learned stands out above the rest.
"The ability to change, but also, I think I've learned a lot from these women about being positive," he said on Wednesday night.
"Just building their self-esteem and building their self-confidence. Blowing up their tyres. I found it was very important in the game we were trying to play.
"Maybe if I'd done that with the men, we might have been even more successful. Who knows?"
Of course, one of the highlights of Sir Graham's career was the 2011 finals when the ABs smashed France, 8-7. Does he ever kick back with a glass of red some nights and enjoy the win all over again?
"Don't want to go through that again!" Henry told The Project. "I haven't watched it since. I only watched it live and never watched the game since."
Watch the full interview above
