Graham Henry has been appointed as an All Blacks selector under head coach Dave Rennie, with the 79-year-old reuniting with the jersey he last guided to a World Cup in 2011.
Rennie, who took over from the sacked Scott Robertson in March, named Henry alongside senior assistant coach Neil Barnes as his three-man selection panel. Speaking in Auckland on Tuesday, Rennie said Henry had already come to their first conversation with a list of roughly 60 players to discuss.
"He is very passionate and he loves the jersey. He watches a lot of rugby. He has some pretty strong opinions on players, so the conversations we have had have been brilliant," Rennie said. "We are hoping that with his eye he may see something a little different to us which will help people within the squad."
Rennie's first test in charge is against France in Christchurch on 4 July, followed by home matches against Italy and Ireland before the All Blacks depart for an eight-match tour of South Africa in August and September — including four tests against the Springboks.
The selection panel's work is complicated by the eligibility status of Richie Mo'unga and Brodie Retallick, both of whom Rennie had wanted involved in the South Africa tour. New Zealand Rugby's policy barring selection from overseas clubs rules them out, and Rennie on Tuesday conceded Mo'unga is unlikely to be available for the trip despite his Toshiba Brave Lupus contract expiring next month, as the fly-half has yet to commit to a new NZR deal.
Rennie had envisaged starting Mo'unga against the Stormers in Cape Town as a stepping stone to a test recall — his last cap, like Retallick's, came in the 2023 World Cup final. That plan is now effectively off the table, though Rennie indicated Mo'unga could still join the squad for training ahead of the July home tests on a non-playing basis.