Right place, right time and, after working hard on his defensive game, the right man.
Any Irish fan who recalled Shane Horgan’s epic stretch for the line in 2006 felt a shiver of excitement as Robbie Henshaw buried it towards the corner and leapt, the ball in a right arm extended to the Nth degree.
Ireland’s 13 looked odds on to grab an Irish try that would have made it a one-score game going into the closing stages.
It was not to be, however.
Exeter winger Jack Nowell threw every bit of himself into a desperate lunge that got Henshaw’s leg into touch before he could ground the ball.
“I did get a lot of joy out of that,” Nowell told The Telegraph.
“I did have to have a little check [the big screen] because you’re not too sure where the ball is or if his leg was in. I did actually think the ball was on top of me but luckily I got him into touch.”
Nowell expanded on the work that he, and England, have put into defence since Eddie Jones took over as head coach. Ultimately, he reasons, that helped him make the try-saving tackle:
“We work very hard on defence and to be put in a position where I have to give it my all to stop a try was absolutely important to me.
“We work very hard on our backfield cover and that was just the job I had to do.
“I was probably in the right place at the right time. I always try to put myself in those positions if we have a line break against us. Our defence has been very good this year so I have hardly ever had any against us.”
That defence has put England only two games away from a Grand Slam.
Henshaw, meanwhile, is left to agonise over whether he should have stepped inside, slammed on the breaks or fended Nowell off.
