'Delighted' Henry lauds All Black forwards

New-look New Zealand put one over England pack

New Zealand coach Graham Henry lauded the All Blacks forwards after his side hammered world champions England 36-3 at Carisbrook in Dunedin on Saturday.

Henry, in his first game in charge of the team, lauded the new-look pack - labelling debutant Jono Gibbes as "superb".

The fans at Carisbrook - dubbed the 'House of Pain' - were treated to an awesome forward effort by the All Blacks who put the vaunted England unit on the back-foot from the start of the match.

Captain Lawrence Dallaglio looked bewildered by the ferocity of the hosts pack and the opening encounter erupted in a flurry of punches between England lock Danny Grewcock and a trio of All Black forwards.

It was England who felt the 'pain', however, with the All Blacks running in three tries to nil. And Daniel Carter kept the scoreboard ticking over with a pinpoint kicking display.

But it was the forwards who provided the platform and Henry was quick to acknowledge them.

"We're just delighted," said Henry after the game. "We just took the initiative and we continued with the initiative through the whole game.

"I thought both the scrum and the lineout, which we worked on very hard, were outstanding.

"They were superb, the forward pack. That was a big challenge for us and they responded to that challenge."

But while the victory was large - the biggest loss ever suffered by the defending world champions (beating South Africa's 25-0 defeat to the All Blacks in 1999) - Henry expected England to be a vastly improved team next week in Auckland for the second Test.

"England were a bit tired," said Henry. "It's the end of a very, very long season for them. They'll be very good next week, don't worry about that."

Captain Tana Umaga, meanwhile, in his first game as the All Blacks captain was elated with his team-mates' performance.

"We wanted to start well and we did," said Umaga.

"This is a great All Blacks outfit, a great bunch of guys, and I think we just showed experience and leadership all over the park."