For a man who has consistently declared he just wants to move on from the World Cup, All Black coach Graham Henry has a strange way of showing it.
On the eve of the new season, Henry has rounded on the New Zealand media for its criticisms of his methods in the wake of the World Cup failure.
‘‘I thought the media lacked balance and was quite vindictive,'' he said. ‘‘It got quite personal. I did not read it, watch it or listen to it, but I was told about it and I was disappointed. It was just great the public made up its own mind.''
We can take issue with Henry on two issues here. There might have been two or three journalists who played the man and not the ball at times, but, by and large, they accurately reflected New Zealand's rugby year.
It was not only that the All Blacks made their earliest exit from a World Cup against a French team they should have beaten by more than 20 points despite the poor refereeing of Wayne Barnes.
It was also that his reconditioning policy turned the professional Super 14 competition into a farce and his rotation policy cheapened the once-cherished All Black jersey. Former All Blacks I have spoken to are especially hot on that one.
Most journalists simply felt Henry had had his four years, had failed to deliver when it counted and that it was time for a change, especially with Robbie Deans and Warren Gatland in the prime of their coaching careers.
There was nothing personal in it. Indeed, I secretly admired Henry's audacity and political nous at not only having another crack at the job, but retaining it.
We all have to move on, but Henry's outburst has not made it easy. You might have thought he would have been so grateful to have retained his job that his emphasis would have been on repairing damaged relationships, but evidently not.
Henry clearly resents the media criticism, but it is part and parcel of being All Black coach.
Laurie Mains was vilified by the media after indifferent results in 1994 and New Zealanders' reaction to coach John Hart after the 1999 failure has been well documented.
Eric Watson bore the brunt of a similar campaign after the All Blacks lost a test series in Australia in 1980.
Henry, by comparison, has had a smooth run for much of his career and he would be better advised to mend fences than to bear grudges.
What he should appreciate is that New Zealanders, including the media, are passionate about rugby, even if they are now more remote from it than they used to be.
What I would have liked from Henry was a candid analysis of the World Cup campaign, including the quarterfinal loss. I think he owed the fans that.
As for the public making up its own mind, Henry was reappointed by the New Zealand Rugby Union. The public had no say in the matter. Had it done so, Henry would probably have been looking for another job.
Even Henry's most ardent admirers - and clearly, he has some - would acknowledge he was extremely lucky to be retained as the All Black coach.
No previous New Zealand coach has survived a World Cup flop. One might have expected Henry to start the year with some soothing statements, to placate and try to unify what has become a divided rugby nation.
He hasn't done so. He is clearly wary of the media, which, for most of the past four years, has been no more critical of him than any previous All Black coach. In turn, it's likely the media will be more way of Henry.
It promises to be an interesting year.
