Former All Blacks coach Graham Henry will apply his Rugby World Cup-winning experience to New Zealand’s quest for a gold medals at the London Olympics.

Henry, who stepped down after New Zealand’s 8-7 win over France in the World Cup final in October, has signed a two-year deal with High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) to act as an adviser to team and individual coaches across the range of Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Henry will work first with the coaches of the New Zealand Olympic sailing team.

“Sir Graham has 40 years’ experience in coaching and he knows what it takes to lead players and support staff to be the best in the world,” HPSNZ chief executive Alex Baumann said.