ALL PART OF a Joe Schmidt masterplan.
By the time the Ireland head coach officially announced his team for the seismic showdown with England at the top of the Aviva Stadium press conference room yesterday, Robbie Henshaw’s selection at fullback made perfect sense.
With Rob Kearney evidently off-the-pace in an uncharacteristically rusty showing for Leinster against Scarlets last weekend, this was the perfect opportunity to pursue an option Schmidt has been considering for some time.
The Kiwi had Henshaw running at fullback during last summer’s tour of Australia and was keen for the 25-year-old to operate in the backfield in one of the three Tests against the Wallabies, but injuries and other variables meant he was instead required to continue in midfield.
And so having run training reps at fullback during last week’s warm-weather training camp in Portugal, as well as at Carton House this week, Henshaw is primed to start in the position he made his initial breakthrough with Connacht in.
The Athlone native, who made his Ireland debut in the 15 jersey against USA in 2013, has gone on record stating it is his preferred position, and many believe he is best served there as it would allow him to fully display his footballing ability.
Schmidt is clearly of the same opinion, and yesterday backed the 36-time capped international to meet the demands of the position, citing recent examples of not only his aerial prowess but the hunger he shows for defensive work.
“I think he will bring a game intelligence because if you don’t have a game intelligence there is always a risk at 15,” Schmidt said.
“Because it is where the biggest spaces are, so you have to got to be able to anticipate play really well and connect in that pendulum with the back three.
“I think Robbie is exceptional in the air — akin to Rob Kearney. Obviously, England will remember well four years ago the defining moment in that win we had here [at the Aviva] when he went up against Alex Goode in the one-to-one in the end goal and it was quite an exceptional catch and to get the ball down was exceptional.
“He is incredibly committed, defensively, you know, he will absolutely deliver at tackle time and he is a smart attacking player. He’ll get himself into the backline and he’ll offer himself as a ball carrier or as a link player. So, I think he has got the full spectrum of skills required to play the position and we would love it if that was evident on Saturday.”
Not only has Schmidt selected Henshaw at 15 on merit, but it allows him to get both Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose into Ireland’s midfield slots against England, the pair having become key figures in the side in recent times.
“It has been on our radar for a long time,” the Kiwi continued.
“Our initial thoughts were to potentially play Robbie at fullback in Australia. We had Bundee and Garry Ringrose and Robbie altogether, but then for each of the Tests only two of them were available so when you got into the position where we could do what we thought would be a good change-up for us.
“So, as I say, you’re always trying to grow the squad. I remember when I spoke to Pat [Lam] and said ‘if you get the chance, it’d be great to see Robbie at12 in this European Challenge Cup game’.
“He said, ‘yeah, if it works out that way we’ll do that’. So, Robbie came into the team having had very little time playing 12 and it’s a very different position from having to go back to 15 but he has still played more at 15 in his rugby career than he has at 12.
“So, the innate understanding of what is required from 15 is still there. Certainly, Robbie is rock solid when it comes to the defensive side of the game.”
While Henshaw made his Ireland debut in the 15 shirt, he has played in midfield under Schmidt ever since, and his most recent appearance there was during Leinster’s Pro14 clash with Benetton in October of last year, shifting there from 12 after an injury to Kearney.
Schmidt explained: “I tell you what, if I said to Robbie, ‘look Robbie I’m thinking of putting you at number eight’, he would look a bit bemused but say ‘I just need to get the calls’.
You know he is a solutions man he is not a problems man. He is a guy who goes out there and says that is a challenge I will find solutions to, I am going to grow the solutions.
“It is hard to say if he is going to have all the solutions on Saturday, because everything is about progression and progression is not linear, there are dips and troughs there are going to be challenges during the game.
“I do think that we’re looking to broaden people all the time, whether that’s on or off the pitch, and he Henshaw broadens himself. He makes sure that he’s really well prepared. That’s the vote of confidence that we’d have in Robbie Henshaw.”
However, Schmidt has no intentions of prematurely discarding 32-year-old Kearney from the selection picture just yet, although he will now be nervously looking over his shoulder ahead of the World Cup.
Yeah, definitely [it's too early to write Rob off]. There isn’t one big game where Rob has not had an impact in big moments.
“Think back to two years ago in Chicago, Rob one versus one against Ben Smith, or in the lead-up to CJ Stander’s try, the way he carried; the lead-up to Garry Ringrose try, the pressure we put on the All Blacks with him going up in the air, him counter-attacking, throwing the dummy and getting through into the second line.
“Some of last-ditch tackles he has made, some of the smart stuff he has done getting into the passing lanes, Beauden Barrett’s offload springs to mind where he’s in that passing channel and grabs that ball when it looks like they’re in behind us and really dangerous with the All Blacks.
“So there have been a number of those really pivotal moments where he has had involvement that have been crucial for us.”
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