YOU COULDN’T BLAME Garry Ringrose and Iain Henderson for feeling that luck has deserted them.
Both men have been ruled out of Ireland’s clash with England in Dublin on Saturday when Andy Farrell’s men can claim the island’s fourth-ever Grand Slam. There are still big doubts over Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan, and Rónan Kelleher too, even if they remain in Ireland camp.
Think back to the New Zealand tour last summer to get a sense of how Ringrose and Henderson must be feeling.
Leinster centre Ringrose started the first two Tests but suffered a head injury in the second, meaning he missed out on the decisive third clash. He put Ireland in position to seal the series but wasn’t fit to help them over the line. Now the same applies with the Slam, a head injury again ruling him out. It was a horrific blow he took in Edinburgh and what really matters is that the IRFU have reported he is “doing well” today.
We saw in Italy how important Ringrose is to Ireland but head coach Andy Farrell looks likely to back Robbie Henshaw to deliver in the number 13 shirt against England this weekend.
Henshaw came off the bench for 14 minutes in Edinburgh – albeit initially at inside centre – and now looks certain to start, possibly alongside Bundee Aki. Stuart McCloskey is also in the mix but Aki got the nod for the 12 shirt against Scotland and is favourite to continue there.
McCloskey could come into the number 23 shirt, with Farrell having picked a centre there every time so far in this Six Nations, although the versatile Jimmy O’Brien has a claim in that slot too.
Second row Henderson is undergoing surgery on his fractured forearm today, having suffered that injury while making a tackle in the first half at Murrayfield. Ulster will hope his recovery is swift as they look towards the business end of this season, while Ireland are now down another lock having already lost Tadhg Beirne earlier in this Six Nations.
Henderson was even more unlucky than Ringrose in New Zealand. He arrived ready to make a big impact but suffered a serious knee injury in training just days after landing. He didn’t get to play a single minute as he was forced home early.
Now, Henderson joins Ringrose in missing Ireland’s Six Nations ‘final’ against the English. It’s well-known that Henderson has consistently been cursed by injury and this latest one is a cruel contact injury that happened in a flash.
As is their way, Ireland will march on without much fuss. Uncapped Leinster lock Ross Molony has been called into the wider squad but Ryan Baird is now expected to be promoted into the starting second row alongside James Ryan.
Baird has been excellent off the Irish bench in the last two games, playing 56 minutes in Edinburgh after Henderson’s injury. It now looks likely that Ulsterman Kieran Treadwell will take up the second row bench spot, especially given how dynamic he is. Farrell likes having that kind of power to call on among his replacements.
It remains to be seen if number eight Doris and hooker pair Sheehan and Kelleher can recover in time for the England game.
Doris took a nasty blow to the hip in the process of taking Scotland’s wild quick throw just before the disallowed Irish try yesterday, but Farrell will have been heartened by the impact Jack Conan had after replacing him. Try-scorer Conan delivered one of his best Test performances in a while and looks set to start if Doris doesn’t make it.
If that transpires, it will be intriguing to see who comes in as back row cover on the bench. Munster man Gavin Coombes will be many people’s favourite given his form, although he wasn’t with Ireland as additional cover in Edinburgh for the weekend, with Connacht’s Cian Prendergast instead travelling as one of the extra players.
Nonetheless, Coombes’ power could be useful off the bench against England, while Ulster man Nick Timoney is another good option who can play a couple of different roles.
As for the hooker conundrum, Farrell seemed hopeful about Sheehan’s shoulder issue yesterday. The fact that Kelleher has seemingly had a re-occurrence of the shoulder issue that involves him losing power in that arm is obviously concerning. He is another player who has been bedevilled by injury problems.
There is reassurance in having the experienced Rob Herring standing by. He doesn’t have quite the same power as Sheehan and Kelleher but he has proven his ability over the course of 33 caps. Forwards coach Paul O’Connell rates his set-piece skills and Ireland would be confident in him delivering against the English.
If both Sheehan and Kelleher miss out, it would mean the uncapped Ulster hooker Tom Stewart coming onto the bench. The 22-year-old is a seriously exciting prospect whose dynamism puts him in the same mould as Sheehan and Kelleher. While it would be a swift step up, Ireland rate Stewart as a major prospect at this level.
There could be one other change to Farrell’s starting XV too, with Jamison Gibson-Park putting his hand up to come into the number nine shirt. Conor Murray has had a strong Six Nations but could revert to the bench role if Farrell goes for Gibson-Park’s pace anc creativity from the off.
With all of this in mind, Ireland can have faith that they’re still in a good place when it comes to personnel.
Even if Doris, Sheehan, and Kelleher all miss out too, Farrell can have belief his Ireland matchday 23 will be good enough to seal the Grand Slam.
