Graham Henry was yesterday named as the All Blacks' coach in place of John Mitchell. Henry, the Wales coach between 1998 and 2002 and Lions coach for the unsuccessful tour of Australia in 2001, has signed an initial two-year contract.

"In the board's view Graham Henry is the most qualified person to coach the All Blacks and achieve the very high standards we expect of them," the chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Jock Hobbs said.

The NZRU asked for applicants for the post after the team's World Cup semi-final defeat by the hosts Australia last month, citing Mitchell's difficult relationship with the media and sponsors as the main factors behind the decision rather than his record.

Mitchell, a former assistant to England's World Cup winning coach Clive Woodward, was also criticised in the New Zealand press for his tactics.

Henry has an outstanding record at national provincial level and in the Super 12 competition, Hobbs said. A former Auckland coach, he has long wanted to coach the All Blacks, an ambition which seemed likely to be denied him when he left New Zealand in 1998 for Wales.