STUART LANCASTER SAYS that Cathal Forde, scorer of a brace of tries as Connacht advanced to the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup with a 29-12 win over the Sharks, reminds him so much of Robbie Henshaw.
Lancaster coached Henshaw, another product of the Connacht academy, when he was at Leinster and he reckons that Forde has a lot of the same attributes.
Forde, from Knocknacarra in the west of Galway city, will be 25 next weekend and he made his mark with his first tries of the season as Lancaster’s side moved into the last eight in Europe’s second tier competition.
“He’s been excellent all season, without a doubt he’s been one of the best players we’ve had this season,” said Lancaster.
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“The thing about Fordey is he’s so coachable, that’s probably his biggest point of difference.
“If I say to him, listen, to play 13 you need to be this, this and this, and you need to be able to defend like this, this and this, he does it.
Lancaster worked with Henshaw at Leinster. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“I think with a bit of direction, obviously he’s proved himself to be a very high quality operator at 13, but I think 12 is his best position, but it’s great to have someone like him.
“He reminds me a lot of Robbie Henshaw. When I coached Robbie at Leinster, his natural position probably would be 12, but he’s played lots of games for Ireland at 13 and I think Fordey is exactly the same,” added Lancaster.
Forde hadn’t scored for his native province since they were defeated by Racing 92 in the quarter-finals of the Challenge a year ago – a match which Lancaster attended and which helped ignite his interest in Connacht when he came to watch his son Dan play for the Parisians.
Connacht, who would have been at home in the semi-finals, lost that match despite having an extra man for most of the game, and Lancaster knows it’s something they want to rectify.
“I remember this was the game last year that I turned up to watch, it was the Racing quarter-final against Connacht, and I know the boys are still annoyed about how that turned out in the end, and how close they were to getting to a semi. So we’ll definitely be fully focused this week,” he added.
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Lancaster: Connacht centre Forde has same attributes as Henshaw
STUART LANCASTER SAYS that Cathal Forde, scorer of a brace of tries as Connacht advanced to the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup with a 29-12 win over the Sharks, reminds him so much of Robbie Henshaw.
Lancaster coached Henshaw, another product of the Connacht academy, when he was at Leinster and he reckons that Forde has a lot of the same attributes.
Forde, from Knocknacarra in the west of Galway city, will be 25 next weekend and he made his mark with his first tries of the season as Lancaster’s side moved into the last eight in Europe’s second tier competition.
“He’s been excellent all season, without a doubt he’s been one of the best players we’ve had this season,” said Lancaster.
“The thing about Fordey is he’s so coachable, that’s probably his biggest point of difference.
“If I say to him, listen, to play 13 you need to be this, this and this, and you need to be able to defend like this, this and this, he does it.
“I think with a bit of direction, obviously he’s proved himself to be a very high quality operator at 13, but I think 12 is his best position, but it’s great to have someone like him.
“He reminds me a lot of Robbie Henshaw. When I coached Robbie at Leinster, his natural position probably would be 12, but he’s played lots of games for Ireland at 13 and I think Fordey is exactly the same,” added Lancaster.
Forde hadn’t scored for his native province since they were defeated by Racing 92 in the quarter-finals of the Challenge a year ago – a match which Lancaster attended and which helped ignite his interest in Connacht when he came to watch his son Dan play for the Parisians.
Connacht, who would have been at home in the semi-finals, lost that match despite having an extra man for most of the game, and Lancaster knows it’s something they want to rectify.
“I remember this was the game last year that I turned up to watch, it was the Racing quarter-final against Connacht, and I know the boys are still annoyed about how that turned out in the end, and how close they were to getting to a semi. So we’ll definitely be fully focused this week,” he added.
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Cathal Forde Connacht High praise Rugby Stuart Lancaster