 Henry has been criticised for his squad rotation policy |
New Zealand coach Graham Henry insists the changes he has made for Saturday's Tri-Nations clash with Australia will benefit his team in the World Cup. Henry made three changes for the Eden Park clash and is keen to provide strong cover to any potential injuries either before or during the tournament.
He said: "We have got to keep everyone happy as much as we can, keep everybody on the ball and everybody involved.
"That will pull the unit together and make sure the spirit is there."
Byron Kelleher, Jerry Collins and Anton Oliver return for the Tri-Nations decider in place of Piri Weepu, Reuben Thorne and Keven Mealamu.
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And despite frustration over Henry's selection policy, the coach believes the squad will benefit from the current rotation.
He added: "We just have to be intelligent in what we do here and make sure we get the balance right, what is right for the spirit of the group and make sure if someone does get injured that we have another player who can take his place.
"If you get an injury to your line-up and you have to replace that person in, say, a World Cup semi-final or the final, and the other guy has not played for three months, we would be shot by the media and everybody else."
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