By Bob Howitt

Maybe now British rugby folk will acknowledge that Graham Henry was an appropriate choice as coach of the 2001 Lions to Australia

He was pilloried in many sections of the media because his team failed to win the series against Rod Macqueen's Wallabies.

It seemed to many of us back in New Zealand, where Henry had stamped his genius with Auckland and the Blues, that his strongest critics were Clive Woodward supporters who had trouble accepting from the start that an "outsider" could win such a prestigious coaching appointment.

Henry's Lions conceded that 2001 series against the most accomplished team in the world ­- they'd backed up their World Cup triumph with success in the Tri-nations in 2000 ­ by the narrowest possible margin.

The two teams scored the same number of tries and points and went right to the wire.

The series turned on Joe Roff's interception try in the second Test and was secured for Australia by the fact Matt Burke goalkicked more accurately in the decider in Sydney than Jonny Wilkinson.

Henry's Lions had a horrific run of injuries, struggling to field a competitive XV in the final Test.

Presumably because Henry wasnšt doing things 'the Woodward way' some of the neglected English players rounded on him, their criticisms being picked up by the media who somehow managed to brand Henry a 'failure'.

Henry retained a stoic silence through it all, and has never spoken about it to this day. Unlike Woodward (now Sir Clive, of course) he didn't surround himself with spin doctors. All Henry has ever admitted is that it was "a great learning experience."

I know Henry resented Woodward's lack of support back then and his conceited attitude since. I also know nothing motivated Henry more for the current series than a passionate desire to 'stick it right up Sir Clive'.

Well, his All Blacks have certainly managed that.

Operating on a budget several millions of dollars less than Sir Clive's, he and his coaching partners Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith have transformed the New Zealand team into the most potent attacking combination in the world.

In successive outings, they have demolished France 45-6 (in Paris), Fiji 91-0 and the Lions 21-3 and 48-18.

The Lions' prolonged attacks upon All Black captain Tana Umaga backfired on them, making the home side an even tighter unit.

Vice-captain Richie McCaw admitted after the 48-18 demolition of their opponents in Wellington that the players wanted to do something special for Tana Umaga after the week he'd endured.

"He'd had a horror week and we felt the best way to answer that was to do our talking on the field. I think we achieved that."

While Dan Carter with his astonishing 33-point effort was the game's superstar, not far behind was Umaga who started and finished the All Blacks' first try and rattled the Lions' confidence with a series of punishing tackles.

At 32, Umaga said he would delay any decision on his future until after this Lions series. Given his sensational current form and inspirational leadership, he might just decide to try and hang in until the 2007 World Cup.

Having said that, we have seen how the current Lions have suffered by possessing too many players past their use-by date.

True they gave a more spirited display than in Christchurch. But they inevitably suffered because this combination of players has had so little time together.

Henry's team lost the 2001 series in a photo-finish. Sir Clivešs lot aren't even second at the moment. Daylight occupies that position.