Things are good in Robbie Henshaw’s world. His native province, Connacht, are flying high after the rarity of a home win over Munster at a Sportsground bursting at the seams. And as the anointed heir to the Irish number 13 throne, he is in flying form himself.
About the only time he stiffens up uncomfortably is when the questions refer to the speculation of him moving to Leinster at the end of this season.
He has another year left on his contract and should Connacht qualify for next season’s Champions Cup, the question easily poses itself: why would he move? “It’s all to play for and that’s our main goal to look at qualifying for the Champions Cup and then anything can happen after that,” he says with the neatest of sidesteps.
When the Leinster connection is revisited, then comes the straight bat. “It’s not too frustrating. It’s people talking. I am certainly not saying anything. I just play my rugby. It’s obviously out there in the media. It’s all speculation. At the moment, I am contracted, as you know, with Connacht until next year. I just play my rugby and keep my head down.”
Henshaw could arguably do more than anyone to quell the speculation but clearly he is under advice to say nowt on the subject (his agent was never more than five metres away as the 21-year-old fulfilled his media briefings at yesterday’s launch of the Aviva Health Schools’ Fitness Challenge in the Aviva Stadium).
Rival province
Yet ultimately, whether or not Connacht qualify for the Champions Cup, it would make no sense for the province to sanction a move to a direct rival when their star protegee has a year to run on his contract. Nor would it make any sense for the IRFU to ratify such a switch, having tripled their investment in Connacht in recent years to around €6 million to put them on a par with the other provinces after years of drip-feeding.
It would send out all the wrong messages. And with Luke Fitzgerald, Brendan Macken and Ben Te'o in Leinster's ranks, not to mention Irish under-20 outside centre Garry Ringrose, it would be poor succession planning.
In any event, in the last round of Pro12 games for a month, Connacht can take a huge stride toward cementing a top-six place when hosting Edinburgh at the Sportsground on Friday. With the top four going into last weekend all losing, and the next five all winning, the Pro12 has been compressed and so Connacht have to look over their shoulder, as well as above.
After what Henshaw admitted was “a very special night” against Munster, in terms of qualifying for the Champions Cup, this sixth v eighth clash could be equally significant, and when the league resumes, the seventh-placed Scarlets host Connacht on February 15th.
“That’s what’s been mentioned in Connacht camp this week,” said Henshaw. “It’s going to be huge and it’s obviously not like a build up to an interprovincial game, which was the case last week, so we’ll have to prepare ourselves like we did for last week. As you can see from the table, the Scarlets aren’t too far behind us and Edinburgh are creeping up the table as well, so it’s very exciting times as well in the Pro12.”
In only its second outing against Munster, Henshaw’s partnership with the equally physical and dynamic Bundee Aki already showcased its rich potential. “He’s quality and so explosive as well. It seems he always breaks the first tackle which creates good go-forward ball for us wider backs outside,” said Henshaw.
Decoy line
“He is a threat himself, so when he runs a decoy line, players will sit on him and it creates holes for the blindside wings and the 13,” adds Henshaw. “It’s great to have him there as a 12 and he’s a good foil, a good distributor as well. He’s a really good fella.
“Sometimes people say the weather in Galway affects the south sea island players coming in. Not him at all or Mils [Muliaina]. They look at home. Bundee is that type of guy, he throws himself into anything. He is fearless.”
Henshaw was outstanding against Munster, playing a key creative role in both of their tries, and while he’s happy with his form, maintains, “I’m playing quite well but I think there’s more in the tank. I’m learning all the time and that’s what I’m pretty pleased about.”
His timing is good too, what with this being the first season in Life After Brian, and this is perhaps no co-incidence given the influence of O’Driscoll.
“He was quality. He was invaluable. He just took me aside one-to-one coaching and more so mentoring. We’d sit down and have a coffee or sit down over the laptop and have a look at video analysis of training and then he’d shoot me a couple of texts for this season in terms of how the 13 role is done and how it’s been going. He’s been really good and he’s helped me a lot.”
Connacht also have a potential Challenge Cup pool decider against Exeter on Sunday week, while Henshaw is far from alone in also having one eye on the Six Nations, and Ireland’s opening defence of their title in the Stadio Olimpico on February 7th, and again wearing the fabled Irish number 13 jersey.
“Yeah, absolutely, it is where I have been playing with Connacht and it’s where I’m quite comfortable at the moment. My eyes are set on it at the moment. That’s my target.”
