AMONG THE THINGS Ireland have done well so far in this Six Nations is winning the ‘scraps’ on the ground.
That is, they’ve beaten England and Scotland to lots of breaking ball coming down from aerial contests or after handling errors.
It’s not rocket science but winning these battles can be highly influential in rugby. Scooping the loose ball up, grabbing it on the bounce, or putting a foot to it can result in big momentum swings.
Robbie Henshaw is alert in the instance above, reacting quickly as Blair Kinghorn spills a poor Finn Russell pass. Henshaw hacks ahead, Calvin Nash chases, and the retreating Duhan van der Merwe is yellow-carded for taking Nash out close to the Scottish tryline.
This is simple stuff but Ireland have also been strategic in winning the scraps from aerial battles.
In the instance above, we can see how the Irish players close to the landing point of the English kick position themselves like a net around James Lowe as he goes up into the contest.
Ireland do their best to have all possible angles for the breaking ball covered.
And so, even though England wing Tommy Freeman bats the ball back, Ireland hooker Rónan Kelleher is in position to bat it back to his team’s side for Josh van der Flier to win.
Below, it’s Henshaw who positions himself well and reacts hungrily to win the scraps after Freeman bats the ball back.
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These moments highlight that Ireland have been mentally engaged in both games but also how they have discussed these as crucial battles.
“We always speak about it,” says Henshaw. “With the new rules allowing access for the high ball competition in the air, there is going to be way more balls that will break on the ground. It definitely has been more of a talking point for us.
“Even having [Dublin footballer] Brian Fenton in to talk to us last week, to hear him talk about the importance of it in GAA and the lift it gives to a team, to the crowd as well.
“There were great scraps off breaking balls in both games and the few times we did win them, the lift it gives your own team and the supporters is great. It’s a focus because there is a lot more competition in the air with the wingers going up.”
Henshaw is a good man to go up for a high ball himself although he admits that his one-time ambitions of being a fullback option are gone now.
“Maybe in the AIL when I retire,” says 31-year-old Henshaw with a smile.
He has been busy perfecting his craft as a centre with Leinster and Ireland, with his ability to play either inside centre or outside centre to a very high level proving useful for both teams.
Playing number 12 is physically tougher in terms of the contact, Henshaw reckons, but wearing the number 13 jersey is more demanding on the lungs given the increased running metres involved.
He’s part of Ireland’s frontline trio of centres along with Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose, with Henshaw saying it’s now completely seamless for them to mix and match depending on selection.
Henshaw carries for Ireland. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
They work well as a midfield unit along with the likes of Stuart McCloskey and spend lots of time analysing match footage together.
“Just taking ownership of our defensive stuff,” says Henshaw. “Sitting down with our nines and 10s, making sure we’re all aligned around what our plan is for the game.
“And then just reviewing stuff, having a look at the opposition, opposition centres, looking at their traits. There is a lot that goes in.
“We have a great team in the analysis team that bring us clips and cut down all the footage for us into snippets so we have accurate stuff to look at.”
Henshaw came off the bench twice in Ireland’s win over England, slotting in at outside centre while Mack Hansen was in the blood bin in the first half before permanently replacing Aki at inside centre in the second half.
Henshaw then started at outside centre against Scotland before moving to inside centre when Ringrose replaced Aki in the second half.
“A bit of a hybrid, yeah,” says Henshaw.
“It’s probably a strength of mine that I can mix and match between both.”
The Athlone man continues to do his best to add strings to his bow, including the left-footed grubber he rolled out against the English.
“It was just the way it fell,” says Henshaw.
“We try and work on it but generally I’d be more right-dominant but just the way it kind of happened, I was able to nudge it off the left.”
Henshaw will be keen to deliver his best performance of the Six Nations yet on Saturday against Wales.
He has yet to win in Cardiff with Ireland, losing there in 2015, 2017, and 2021.
“It’s an incredibly tough place to play,” says Henshaw, who was absent for the win there in 2023.
“We’ve had some great battles with Wales over the years. Such a passionate crowd and when the crowd get behind them and if they get a roll, they’re hard to stop. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. It’s going to be a huge test.”
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Winning scraps, hybrid role, and Henshaw's losing streak in Cardiff
AMONG THE THINGS Ireland have done well so far in this Six Nations is winning the ‘scraps’ on the ground.
That is, they’ve beaten England and Scotland to lots of breaking ball coming down from aerial contests or after handling errors.
It’s not rocket science but winning these battles can be highly influential in rugby. Scooping the loose ball up, grabbing it on the bounce, or putting a foot to it can result in big momentum swings.
Robbie Henshaw is alert in the instance above, reacting quickly as Blair Kinghorn spills a poor Finn Russell pass. Henshaw hacks ahead, Calvin Nash chases, and the retreating Duhan van der Merwe is yellow-carded for taking Nash out close to the Scottish tryline.
This is simple stuff but Ireland have also been strategic in winning the scraps from aerial battles.
In the instance above, we can see how the Irish players close to the landing point of the English kick position themselves like a net around James Lowe as he goes up into the contest.
Ireland do their best to have all possible angles for the breaking ball covered.
And so, even though England wing Tommy Freeman bats the ball back, Ireland hooker Rónan Kelleher is in position to bat it back to his team’s side for Josh van der Flier to win.
Below, it’s Henshaw who positions himself well and reacts hungrily to win the scraps after Freeman bats the ball back.
These moments highlight that Ireland have been mentally engaged in both games but also how they have discussed these as crucial battles.
“We always speak about it,” says Henshaw. “With the new rules allowing access for the high ball competition in the air, there is going to be way more balls that will break on the ground. It definitely has been more of a talking point for us.
“Even having [Dublin footballer] Brian Fenton in to talk to us last week, to hear him talk about the importance of it in GAA and the lift it gives to a team, to the crowd as well.
“There were great scraps off breaking balls in both games and the few times we did win them, the lift it gives your own team and the supporters is great. It’s a focus because there is a lot more competition in the air with the wingers going up.”
Henshaw is a good man to go up for a high ball himself although he admits that his one-time ambitions of being a fullback option are gone now.
“Maybe in the AIL when I retire,” says 31-year-old Henshaw with a smile.
He has been busy perfecting his craft as a centre with Leinster and Ireland, with his ability to play either inside centre or outside centre to a very high level proving useful for both teams.
Playing number 12 is physically tougher in terms of the contact, Henshaw reckons, but wearing the number 13 jersey is more demanding on the lungs given the increased running metres involved.
He’s part of Ireland’s frontline trio of centres along with Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose, with Henshaw saying it’s now completely seamless for them to mix and match depending on selection.
They work well as a midfield unit along with the likes of Stuart McCloskey and spend lots of time analysing match footage together.
“Just taking ownership of our defensive stuff,” says Henshaw. “Sitting down with our nines and 10s, making sure we’re all aligned around what our plan is for the game.
“And then just reviewing stuff, having a look at the opposition, opposition centres, looking at their traits. There is a lot that goes in.
“We have a great team in the analysis team that bring us clips and cut down all the footage for us into snippets so we have accurate stuff to look at.”
Henshaw came off the bench twice in Ireland’s win over England, slotting in at outside centre while Mack Hansen was in the blood bin in the first half before permanently replacing Aki at inside centre in the second half.
Henshaw then started at outside centre against Scotland before moving to inside centre when Ringrose replaced Aki in the second half.
“A bit of a hybrid, yeah,” says Henshaw.
“It’s probably a strength of mine that I can mix and match between both.”
The Athlone man continues to do his best to add strings to his bow, including the left-footed grubber he rolled out against the English.
“It was just the way it fell,” says Henshaw.
“We try and work on it but generally I’d be more right-dominant but just the way it kind of happened, I was able to nudge it off the left.”
Henshaw will be keen to deliver his best performance of the Six Nations yet on Saturday against Wales.
He has yet to win in Cardiff with Ireland, losing there in 2015, 2017, and 2021.
“It’s an incredibly tough place to play,” says Henshaw, who was absent for the win there in 2023.
“We’ve had some great battles with Wales over the years. Such a passionate crowd and when the crowd get behind them and if they get a roll, they’re hard to stop. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. It’s going to be a huge test.”
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hybrid Ireland robbie henshaw scraps six nations 2025