It’s set to be a day of firsts for Robbie Henshaw, his first appearance for the British and Irish Lions, and his first time to play against his childhood hero Sonny Bill Williams.
It’s not going to be an easy start for Henshaw’s Lions career, but he wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I was a big fan of his when I was a kid, whether it was performing in the league or for the All Blacks, to be coming up against him is pretty surreal. It’s going to be tricky but I’m looking forward to playing against him and having a go,” he told reporters.
The Lions clash with the Auckland Blues on Wednesday morning will have an added importance as a result of their struggles in Whangarei against the Provincial Barbarians where the Lions stuttered over the line.
Warren Gatland’s side were roundly criticised for their performance on Saturday morning. It was leaden, it was slow and it certainly won’t be good enough in any other games on this tour.
Lions debut ✅
Playing against childhood hero ✅#BLUvBIL will be extra special for @henshawrob: https://t.co/K8P32BMoQX#LionsNZ2017 pic.twitter.com/PDEDyPlA8b— British & Irish Lions (@lionsofficial) June 7, 2017
Wednesday’s clash with the Auckland Blues, one of New Zealand Rugby’s five franchise sides, and a side littered with Super Rugby stars, represents a huge opportunity for the Lions to atone for this below par showing.
New Zealand’s multi-talented 31-year-old Sonny Bill Williams is one of the many stars in the Auckland lineup. The hard-hitting and highly skilled centre will combine with fellow All Black George Moola in the midfield.
This decorated pairing who have accumulated 12 international tries between them will be facing off against the Irish pairing of Jared Payne and Henshaw.
Gatland has opted for a theme of familiarity throughout his lineup, with the Welsh pairing of Rhys Webb and Dan Bigger accompanying each other in the halves, Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes in the Second row and Jack Nowell and Elliot Daly out wide.
Payne and Henshaw have been Irish Head Coach Joe Schmidt’s first choice centre partnership since the retirement of Brian O’Driscoll.
“Similarly we have the Welsh nine and 10 with Rhys and Dan, and myself and Jared know each other inside out, and I think that’s definitely a positive coming into the game tomorrow. I’m just looking forward to getting out there. It’s been a while since we played together, but I think we trained well during the week and it’s all positive, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
