Very few Connacht fans would begrudge Jake Heenan a clear run of it over the next few seasons, even if it has to be away from The Sportsground.
There’s a very good chance we will see Heenan in England’s Aviva premiership next season. The Kiwi flanker looks set to link up with old Connacht boss Pat Lam at Bristol Rugby and they are cruising atop the Championship.
There’s a decent chance, too, that Heenan may never line out for Connacht again. He dearly hopes not but he is recovering from shoulder surgery and is not getting carried away with the optimistic, and very much provisional, return date of April 2018.
Even if the 25-year-old does make a full recovery and get back to match fitness, it would be a massive risk to go out near the end of a season [and a contract] after major surgery for a team one is departing in the summer. Heenan would not ascribe to that way of thinking at all but he knows time will be the greatest healer for a shoulder that gave him trouble for a good number of months.
“I can’t rush anything for the sake of my career,” he sensibly tells The Hard Yards in a wide-ranging interview [from 20:00 below].
From a Connacht point of view, too, Kieran Keane and his coaching staff must be ruthless. Heenan is out the door in the summer and there are other players on the books that could do with the game-time and experience.
Ultimately, as rugby so often dictates, it must come down to what is best for the team. If Heenan is back, in good form on the training pitch, and can help Connacht finish the season in the highest position possible, in he goes.
One hopes – as Heenan dearly does – that he gets another run-out in front of the Connacht faithful, in Galway. He has spent five seasons out west, having moved over to Ireland from New Zealand in 2013. Two of those seasons have been ravaged by injuries but he has been a pivotal player when his body allowed him a run of games.
Heenan was excellent in his first season at the club and it was no surprise to hear that Joe Schmidt had been in regular contact during his first few seasons in the country. Heenan was superb in Connacht’s PRO12-winning season of 2015/16. The Ireland call never came – Schmidt had his fill of flankers, in fairness – but Heenan ploughed on as Connacht tried to juggle a title defence with Champions Cup commitments.
“I’d love to get back and I’m still holding on for that. This injury hit me hard. It was harder, still, to leave this place. I love it here; all my friends are here. I does feel like home.
“It was a hard decision to leave and to go out the way I went out was petty disappointing. I’m still holding out to the fact that I may get to run out in front of that home crowd one last time, or get to wear the jersey again. It would be fantastic.”
A bit like Aly Muldowney – another titan of that magical 2015/16 season – one suspects Heenan will be missed even more when he is gone.
