Bundee Aki was trying his best to give nothing away.
Minutes after Joe Schmidt admitted Robbie Henshaw was “potentially” out of the Wales game, Bundee Aki entered the Aviva Stadium’s ‘Dressing Room 4’ for media duties.
The Connacht centre had played a big role in his side’s 56-19 win over Italy, and had crashed over for his first Test try in four appearances.
Asked about Henshaw’s shoulder injury, which saw him leave the game in a sling and needing oxygen, Aki preferred not to speculate how long his midfield partner would be sidelined. However, he did say:
“If Robbie is not there for the next couple of weeks it would be a big loss.
“He’s a big leader in the backline. But whoever steps up I’m sure will do a great job.”
There are a few options to step into the Irish team if Henshaw misses the Wales game, and the remaining matches with Scotland and England. The easiest solution would appear to be Munster’s Chris Farrell wearing the 13 jersey, as he did against Fiji and Argentina last November.
Rory Scannell, who was brought to Paris as injury back-up last weekend, could slot in at inside centre and Aki could move out along the line. Another option revealed itself in the final half hour of the Italy game – Keith Earls.
“Earlsy did well at 13,” said Aki. “It was a great tackle there at the end.
“We were looking to rectify the week before, looking to start well and that’s exactly what we did. The boys were just trying to stick to the plan and get moving forward.”
16 of Earls’ 63 Test appearances have been at outside centre but he has not occupied that role since the World Cup quarter final loss to Argentina in October 2015.
Asked about the possibility of linking up with Earls again, Aki said:
“He’s a world-class player, with the experience he has.
“I felt real comfortable with how he was playing, and that’s the same thing Robbie would do for me. I feel really comfortable with him on the outside, and Johnny on the inside, and it’s the same with Earlsy. You can only feed off that experience and enthusiasm.”
We may know more on Henshaw’s injury – and on the strains picked up by Jack Conan and Tadhg Furlong – on Monday. However, Schmidt has plenty of options to fill in for Henshaw.
Asked about Garry Ringrose possibly coming back into the squad, Schmidt replied, “Garry’s making really good progress, next weekend might be just one weekend too soon, but he’s not far away…
“He’s such and intelligent player he does add value when he comes into the side. He could be another option if Robbie Henshaw is unavailable, as we suspect he potentially will be.”
