RUGBY:Graham Henry's reign as All Blacks coach is over after the New Zealand Rugby Union confirmed he would be replaced by the end of the year.

Henry has paid the price for New Zealand's shock exit from the World Cup after Saturday night's 20-18 defeat to France at the Millennium Stadium.

The announcement was made by NZRU chairman Jock Hobbs, who also revealed plans to hold an independent inquiry into the All Blacks' latest World Cup failure.

"We will have a new All Blacks coach in place by Christmas," Hobbs said.

Henry, the former Wales and Lions coach, took charge after the 2003 World Cup, replacing John Mitchell, and the All Blacks have been the world's number one team since.

But their defeat to France made them the worst-performing New Zealand side in the history of the tournament: they had previously reached at least the semi-finals.

They have been branded perennial chokers because of their lack of success since their solitary triumph in 1987.

All Black legend Colin Meads claimed the national side must address its inability to perform on the greatest stage of all.

"Graham usually comes up with the answers, but he didn't this time. We took it too easily," he said. "We've got this monkey on our back that we always choke at the World Cup and that's just going to rear its head again building up to the next tournament.

"We'll go through the same process again. In between World Cups we'll be good and then it will all come tumbling down again."

Prominent New Zealand commentator Murray Deaker described the result as nothing short of a national disaster.

"Sadly we are a dumb rugby nation, we don't play the big matches well," he said.

"We play them in a boofhead way. We were a bunch of boofheads playing out there tonight against a French side that isn't that good. On the big occasions we choke."