"He certainly isn't playing for us against Bath on Saturday so I think it's unlikely he'll be facing England."Wood, who missed Ireland's 54-10 demolition of Wales last Sunday, has been out since tearing his calf muscle against Sale in December. He played a key role in denying England the Grand Slam last season, scoring a try in Ireland's 20-14 victory at Lansdowne Road.. Graham Henry, the so-called "Great Redeemer" who left Dublin on Sunday in greater need of redemption than anyone else, is no longer the national coach of Wales. "It has been agreed by both parties that Graham will leave his position this week," Glanmor Griffiths, the chairman of the union, said. Only recently, the Lions flanker Colin Charvis stomped off on holiday after a disagreement with the coach.There were problems during last summer's Lions tour of Australia, too. The first non-British Isles national to secure the most sought-after coaching job in the northern hemisphere game, Henry's abrupt manner and habit of belittling out-of-form players came close to provoking open rebellion from members of his squad, particularly those among the midweek "dirt-trackers" who felt marginalised by the management.

When Austin Healey, the Leicester wing, branded Henry a "Kiwi runt" in a book published after the trip, the sound of dissenting voices was less than deafening.Henry did have his moments, though. His side denied England the 1999 Grand Slam by beating them at Wembley, and when the coach prevailed twice over the powerful Argentinians on Puma soil and then plotted a victory over South Africa in Cardiff – Wales had never before beaten the Springboks – the "Redeemer" tag became something more than a nickname. However, Wales failed to make it beyond the World Cup quarter-finals that autumn, and despite the odd famous victory – the win over France in Paris last year was a classic – his star fell into the descendant.Insiders in the Welsh squad indicated that Henry, contracted to the end of the 2003 World Cup, was prepared to quit as early as last Sunday evening: he consulted senior players, including the captain Scott Quinnell, and was persuaded to chew the fat for a few days.Many in Wales expected him to stay put through the current Six Nations, which has four rounds still to run. Even when the outspoken Les Williams, vice-chairman of the WRU, publicly called for his departure on Monday, the consensus of opinion was that Henry would see the campaign out and then slip off home at some quiet point during the summer.Not for the first time in the professional era, Wales are in dire straits. In many respects, they are experiencing the political agonies that consumed English rugby for more than five years: unable to agree on the optimum structure at domestic level, they have saddled the Test team with an increasingly thankless task Now, they are coachless at the top end. Gareth Jenkins, the respected Llanelli coach, will be the people's choice as Henry's successor, but he will look hard at his options before he jumps into the flames generated by the Red Dragonhood.Ieuan Evans believes the Wales team must shoulder their share of the blame for Henry's departure."There are far more issues at stake than the coach," Evans, the former Wales and Lions winger, said. "The players and the WRU all have a responsibility for the predicament Wales are in."The one thing that I feel is that if you are playing for your country you don't have to play for the coach; you play for your country, your family – to lack motivation because of the coach, I find hard to swallow."Gwyn Jones, who captained Wales under Henry's predecessor, Kevin Bowring, said: "Henry lost the dressing-room 18 months ago I hope this will spark change.".

Another New Zealander today took over from Graham Henry as coach of the Wales rugby union team. He said today that he left on his own accord, citing coaching "burnout."Hansen will make his coaching debut against France in Cardiff on 16 February. Wales then face Italy in Cardiff on 2 March , followed by trips to Twickenham to face England on 23 March and a home clash with Scotland on 6 April."I am delighted to have been asked to run the remainder of our Six Nations campaign," Hansen said "Graham is a great coach, someone I always looked up to. His overall record in coaching has not been bettered by too many people in the game."He is a great bloke The team has been quite upset by what has happened They all think of him as a mate Now it is really important that we as a team move on. I am looking forward to the challenge and it is important we do the best that we can."WRU chairman Glanmor Griffiths said Henry was not pushed out: "It was never a question of his being asked to leave, nor was there ever a lack of confidence from the general committee of the union in his ability. We certainly wanted him to stay in his post, but ultimately the decision was in his hands."Henry, 55, who had 20 months remaining of a five–year contract worth more than £1 million , issued a statement explaining his decision to resign."The support for the team, and myself, still appears as strong as ever, but in the light of recent results I have had to take a good look at myself in the mirror and ask myself some hard questions," he said."I still think that I am a good coach but I don't think I am coaching as well as I can.