Graham Henry assesses his bounty

All Black boss rubbishes critisicm of Super 12 rugby

New Zealand coach Graham Henry has admitted he had been surprised by England's recent poor form but rejected suggestions the British & Irish Lions will be any weaker because of it.

Less than two years ago, a Lions Test XV would have been built around a core of Englishmen, but a combination of injuries and retirements has seen the world champions slump to sixth in the rankings.

But with Wales and Ireland setting the pace in the RBS 6 Nations and the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Richard Hill and Mike Tindall pressing to be fit for the tour, Henry still expects Sir Clive Woodward's 44-strong Lions squad to be a formidable unit.

"It surprises me that all that depth of talent in England hasn't come through onto the international scene," said Henry.

"I guess you have to expect that. It takes time to bed in. But I am surprised England have not played well, especially against Wales.

"Against France they were the better side and should have won the game by 20 points.

"If Wilkinson had been playing they would have won.

"The England side are starting again and some players who haven't been available for England will tour with the Lions.

"I am sure Clive will be disappointed with some of the form being shown but we still expect a very strong Lions side - there is no doubt about that when you pick from four nations. Ireland, Wales and England are very strong.

"Whether they can pull it all together is the big question but as far as personnel are concerned it will be an extremely strong side as always.

"There will be a good balance with a number from England, Wales and Ireland and a smattering from Scotland."

Wilkinson is battling to return from knee ligament damage - his third long-term injury since the World Cup in 2003 - and hopes to be back in action in March.

The best-case scenario would leave Wilkinson just under three months to hit peak fitness and form before the Lions head off to New Zealand.

But Henry believes Woodward cannot afford to leave his superstar fly-half at home, even if Wilkinson is short of full match fitness when the squad departs in late May.

"Jonny Wilkinson will tour and will be an influential player on this tour," said Henry.

"There are others who are injured at the moment that will be right for the tour. Jonny Wilkinson is a key player in that regard."

It is a situation Henry fully understands, having had to wrestle with a similar decision four years ago while preparing to take the Lions on their ill-fated tour of Australia.

Henry decided to include Lawrence Dallaglio in his squad even though the England number eight was suffering a knee injury.

In the end, Dallaglio had to head home early after injuring it again in the midweek victory over New South Wales, but he was such an important figure that Henry does not regret taking the gamble.

"I would take the same risk again. Lawrence on that tour was an important player. We had to take that punt," Henry recalled.

"I am sure Clive will do a similar thing with one or two players on this tour."

Woodward has had to repeatedly defend his plan to take a playing squad of 44 and a backroom staff of around 32 people, but Henry is not at all surprised the Lions will be arriving in New Zealand mob-handed.

"One recommendation that came from the last Lions tour was to have that number. Clive is doing what he thinks is right," said Henry.

"The financial resources are obviously a positive but it is not everything and I am sure Clive acknowledges that.

"He's turning over every stone to make sure the Lions series in New Zealand is a successful venture. It's a continuation of what he has done in the past [with England]."

The expanded squad size will, at the very least, help keep players fresher for longer on a 12-match tour which starts with a Test against Argentina in Cardiff on May 23.

Burn-out is the hot topic of the day and it certainly affected the Lions' chances in 2001.

Having embarked on a 10-week tour of Australia at the end of a gruelling domestic season, the players reached the final stretch on their last legs.

"In 2001 the major problem we had was a huge number of injuries. On the Wednesday prior to third [and deciding] Test only eight guys of the 15 were able to train," recalled Henry.

"We had to nurse them onto the field. How they played was remarkable. All week I didn't think they could pull it off.

"I didn't think we had a cat in hell's chance with the number of injuries we had."

Henry also rubbished critisicm of Super 12 rugby, a tournament that has gained many degorratory epithets for its perceived lack of set-piece steel.

"I'm quite relaxed about Super 12 rugby - I think it's a marvellous competition and I know the northern hemisphere say it's nothing but a glorified game of 15-man sevens," said Henry.

"But I think the things we did on the northern tour last year reflect some of the stuff that happened in Super 12."

Henry pointed at New Zealand's comprehensive win over France in Paris as evidence that his controversial 'flat-attack' system had come fruition, and stated that he would be looking for players able to work within the perimeters of the tactic during the forthcoming Super 12 season.

Indeed, Henry and his cohorts have just complete a whistle-stop tour of all five New Zealand Super 12 franchises - a gesture designed to get players and coaches 'on message' with the All Blacks' master plan.

"There was no deliberate change in the way we played [in Europe] - we just got better at what we were doing,"

"We've been talking about the game we're trying to play, the skill set we're looking for in those games, the Lions tour, and what to expect from the Lions and how that will affect selection.

"We're looking for explosive players who can do that and you can probably see from some of the selection changes for the end-of-year tour, some of the players who went we thought at the time were more explosive than some of those who didn't."