But the coach said the performance had to be seen in hindsight as the team had started the 2007 tournament with a huge win yet in the end "that didn't do us any good.
"We scored some good tries, got maximum points, defended well and showed some good structure, but made too many mistakes," Henry said.
"We gave away too many penalties, and there is a bit of work to be done.
"The guys have been waiting a long time for this. There is some positive stuff out there but still lots to build on and we are looking forward to the next one."
He said the mistakes might have come from the players being over-eager but he credited the good work of the Tongan defence.
He praised the defence of Sonny Bill Williams, and felt fullback Israel Dagg had performed well although he faded in the second half, which was understandable due to his lack of match play.
Skipper Richie McCaw said his team had chances early in the second half to extend the score but could not capitalise on them.
From there the players got frustrated but he praised the Tongan defence.
He said the All Blacks had done some good things but it was disappointing they could not carry on with it in the second half.
It was disappointing to concede a Tongan try late in the game but he felt the home team had defended well before conceding the five-pointer.
Halfback Jimmy Cowan said they could not get much flow into their game.
"The Tongans played well and we could not get the ball in the second half and when we got the ball we would just turn it over," Cowan said.
"It is something that has hampered us in Brisbane and in previous games and it is something that we have to fix if we want to go forward.
"As a whole as a group we were a bit tight. For me, we had no flow to our game. And when we did have the ball we tried to get structure into the match. We need to find the balance."
Cowan admitted there was a lot of excitement going into the game, and he could not have his normal pre-match sleep as the crowd near the team hotel was too loud.
Winger Richard Kahui said it was a special game and to score twice made it a memorable night.
He felt comfortable on the wing, and it was made easy for the good work inside him.
"In the second half, it was frustrating as we did not do what we set out to do. The Tongans made it hard for us. We did not control the ball and take the chances. We need to learn to take the chances especially against those quality sides like . . Australia," Kahui said.
Tongan coach Isitolo Maka was full of praise for his team in the second half.
He said some of his players were overwhelmed in the first 40 minutes.
But he said they had got over that in the second half and played well.
Considering the last time Tonga had played the All Blacks at the World Cup it had lost by 100 points, the performance had to be seen in a good light.
Neither side suffered any major injuries, with Tonga to take on Canada in Whangarei on Wednesday and the All Blacks facing Japan in Hamilton next Friday night.