Jake Heenan is back. Have no doubt about that.
The New Zealander has been dogged by injuries for the guts of two years but he is back, fit and firing again.
The flanker powered over for two first half tries as Connacht recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this year. Their 30-17 bonus point victory sees them go top of the Guinness PRO12, leapfrogging four sides in the process.
Heenan was immense, standing head and shoulders above his impressive, clinical, driven teammates as Scarlets were dismantled. He constantly got his team on the front foot, was aggressive in the tackle and secured turnovers for fun. Rodney Ah You and Denis Buckley were the province’s other try-scorers.
Having being flagged as a potential Ireland international during his first season back, Heenan’s performances will definitely be on Joe Schmidt’s radar. The 23-year-old has come back from two shoulder surgeries in the space of a year and looks back to his best.
He will be qualified to play for Ireland at the beginning of next season and will have a decision to make – he can line out for us, England and New Zealand.
Elsewhere, Munster are back to winning ways in the league after defeating Zebre 16-13 in Italy.
Anthony Foley’s men had a Mark Chisholm try – his first for the province – and nine points from the boot of Ian Keatley to thank for their narrow win.
Given that Munster had no players released back from Ireland duty, the four points will be most welcome by Foley.
