Graham Henry does not want England job but could help European club

 

Graham Henry is not interested in returning to Test rugby but may be tempted by an advisory role with a Heineken Cup side. Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Action Images

Graham Henry has firmly shut the door on any potential coaching job with England, insisting he has no interest in a role at Twickenham. "I've got enough problems," said the World Cup winner, who will coach the Barbarians against Australia this Saturday.

Asked to indicate on a scale of one to 10 how likely he was to work again at Test level, he replied: "Zero. You never say never but I just think it's time to move on."

His decision will be greeted with dismay by those within the Rugby Football Union who had hoped Henry might yet be persuaded to help out on a consultancy basis during the Six Nations Championship. With Nick Mallett also reiterating he is unavailable for any role before June at the earliest, the prospect of England enticing a top-level overseas coach is fast receding.

Henry, who flew to Europe last week and has been spending time with old friends in Wales, is certainly not for turning. "Firstly, I'm contracted to the New Zealand Rugby Union until the end of March and secondly I've no desire to coach a team. I've done 140 Tests and that's probably enough," he said, confirming his intention to live primarily in his homeland.

"I've been in New Zealand a long time and you get focused on what you're doing, not what other people are doing. You just haven't got the time, the energy or the desire. My knowledge of what's happening [in England] is very limited."

The only temptation, it seems, would be an advisory role with an ambitious European club. "I've had a chat to a couple of people but I don't want to go into that. If there is somebody who wants me as an adviser, perhaps a Heineken Cup team, I'd be interested in looking at that. I like what I see in that competition and there are some interesting places to go to. Maybe if an occasion arose it could happen next year."

He has also ruled out any possible reunion with the 2013 Lions, having coached them against the Wallabies in 2001. "I didn't coach particularly well in 2001 because I didn't get to know the players enough. Do you think I want to get it right? Probably not. There would be some very good coaches in line for that and I wish them well."

Henry said he was slightly surprised by Martin Johnson's departure as England manager, believing that coaches tend to improve with age. "If a person is a quality coach I think they learn a lot from their experiences in the job and they get better at it. Too often unions sack people when they are going to get better at what they do. But that's a general statement. I can't comment about Martin's coaching because I've never seen him coach."

Whatever Henry does next, though, his reputation is assured following New Zealand's World Cup triumph. "I enjoyed the tournament. I was pretty relaxed apart from the last half-hour against France, when I shat myself most of the time. The French played like boys in the pool stages against us but they played like giants in the final. They played better than us but we hung in there and showed a lot of faith in each other. That trust was pretty important. They guys were pretty close as individuals and I think that showed. I had nightmares in the last 30 minutes but I haven't had nightmares since."

He is now supportive of revived attempts, as reported in the Guardian this month, to launch some kind of World Club Challenge. "A game between the Super 15 champions and the Heineken Cup champions at the Millennium Stadium would be very interesting, wouldn't it? It's just a matter of fitting it in."