Former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry believes French rugby's obsession with foreign imports has ruined the national team.

Sir Graham Henry has launched a scathing attack on the standard of French rugby following France's World Cup quarterfinal humiliation at the hands of the All Blacks.

The former All Blacks coach, who was at the helm eight years ago when Les Bleus knocked the Kiwis out of last eight, only to bounce back and lead New Zealand to the title in 2011, believes the French Top 14 competition is poorly coached and its obsession with big salaries and high-profile foreign recruits has had a disastrous affect on the national side.

Henry's attack comes two days after current All Blacks coach Steve Hansen blamed the French club competition for stifling the flair out of the national team.

"The French rugby team tried their best. The French competition in France, poor," Henry told Newstalk ZB after the All Blacks' 62-13 victory in Cardiff.

"Best paid professional competition in the world but can't produce rugby players because they're badly coached and they're over paid. They are, it's just ridiculous."

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Cashed-up Top 14 clubs, backed by the competition's huge television rights deal, is one of the biggest poachers of Kiwi talent.

Veteran trio Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith are among the latest batch of All Blacks to head to France after the World Cup.

But Henry says they going to a competition which is nowhere near the level of Super Rugby.

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"Our guys, and I love them dearly, like Ma'a (Nonu) and Conrad (Smith) and Daniel Carter and so on are going over there to play to get their old-age pension and ... tick all those boxes, but they're playing in a competition which is ridiculous," he added. "It's all about sponsorship and television and they're ruining French rugby and we saw it tonight.

"The French guys tried hard but they just weren't in the same league as our guys, not in the same league."