He sipped from a glass of water, glanced at the assembled media, cleared his throat and leaned forward to the microphone.
"I'm very proud of the way the guys played.
I thought they showed a huge amount of heart and character.
"I thought the forwards played particularly well.
"We had a good set piece and had the better of the forward battle, which is a major achievement against a very experienced Irish pack.
"It was a good start, basically.But conditions were horrible. Players probably only experience those conditions once a year.
"That makes it tough."
And that was it.
No gloating, no firing back at the critics who have been on his back since October, no lecturing about the irresponsibility of a New Zealand rugby press still wallowing in World Cup failure.
It has been a long and, one has to assume, difficult eight months for Henry.
There was the shock quarterfinal loss to France, the weeks of doubt over whether he would reapply for his job, the outcry (in some sectors) when he was reappointed ahead of successful Crusaders coach Robbie Deans, and the ongoing debate over his right to have an unprecedented fifth year in charge.
Even last night, a veteran member of the press corps was proclaiming the Henry-Deans saga to be the most divisive issue in New Zealand rugby since the 1981 Springbok tour.
No wonder the first question posed to Henry in his first post-game conference of the year related to how he had coped with the pressure on his own shoulders.
"Was I under personal pressure, was I?" was his typically blunt response.
The raised eyebrows, the small grins, the clipped tones - Henry was back.
Part school principal, part rugby coach and even part comedian.
"Nobody got hypothermia, which was a big positive," he dead-panned as he reflected on an Arctic night at Wellington.
You weren't unhappy at anything, Graham?"No."
Silence, then laughter.
"Oh, there's always things you can improve.
But that game was a one-off and it's very difficult to judge it compared with others.
"It's just good for the guys to get a game together.
The forwards will get a lot of confidence out of that because they did well in all areas and put some heat on the Irish."
Now the All Blacks' focus turns to England and back-to-back tests in Auckland and Christchurch.
England, the 2003 World Cup champion and 2007 finalist, was the last touring side to win in New Zealand, five years ago, and Henry knows his side will have to play better than it did against Ireland.
"I hope we'll improve.
We've only had three practices together but we've got another week till England.
"My informants tell me it's a very good England side.
We won't be taking them lightly.
They've got a big forward pack and a lot of experience."
Crusaders prop Ben Franks will join the All Blacks this week following confirmation of John Afoa's right knee injury.
Afoa injured his medial collateral ligament against Ireland and will be out for three to four weeks.
Veteran prop Greg Somerville will be available this week after getting a rest following the Super 14 final, but Tony Woodcock is still likely to out with his foot problem.
Brendon Leonard remains in doubt so Highlanders halfback Jimmy Cowan will stay with the squad for the test at Eden Park.
