Even though a month has passed since the Bledisloe Cup triumph in Brisbane, Graham Henry was still in a good mood. 'Hey boys, is Robbie Deans around you listening to this,' asks the All Blacks coach in jest.
He is in Wellington. Six of us from the media, one in Australia, another in Singapore and the rest in Hong Kong, are patched through to him by conference call. But despite the thousands of miles that separate us, there is no mistaking the levity in his tone. Henry sounds as relaxed as a yogi lost in meditation.
He wasn't like this a few months ago. Having failed to take the All Blacks to the holy grail - the World Cup - last September, the knives were out in New Zealand.
The media bayed for his blood and roundly criticised everything from his rotational policy to his perceived failure to get the best out of his players. Even his close friend - well-known Kiwi rugby commentator Murray Deaker - said the All Blacks lacked big-game temperament and had 'choked, choked, choked'.
But a successful run, nay finish, at this year's Tri-Nations has changed it all around. A narrow 28-24 victory over the Wallabies in the final game in Brisbane on September 13 clinched another Tri-Nations title for the All Blacks, as well as the Bledisloe Cup.
Those twin successes could possibly have saved Henry from the guillotine. No wonder he seemed to be laughing his head off when he discussed a range of subjects, from the forthcoming Bledisloe Cup game in Hong Kong to why the future looks rosy for the All Blacks.