Talking yourself up is not easy for everyone, even if you happen to be an Ireland star just back from your first Lions tour.
Robbie Henshaw was the guest of honour at Buccaneers RFC clubhouse on Thursday for a 2FM preview special of the Lions’ Third Test against New Zealand. Henshaw would have dearly wished to be involved in the series decider but a torn pectoral muscle in a 31-31 draw with Hurricanes ended his tour prematurely.
He returned home last weekend and has already had shoulder surgery. Doctors tell him he will be out for 12 to 16 weeks so, naturally, Henshaw is targeting the 12 weeks.
The injury has halted the Leinster star’s momentum but he is only 24 and there are World Cups, Champions Cups and further Lions tours in his future. He was asked, by Hugh Cahill on Game On, to reflect on his journey from unknown teenage debutant with Connacht to Irish rugby star but his response was typically modest.
“I remember I came off the bench in the November Series [against Australia in 2013] and didn’t have a great game,” Henshaw recalled, “so I knew I would have to work even harder and take that next step again if I was to try get into the team.”
Connacht captain John Muldoon stepped in, then, and told the audience just how special a player he is. The poor lad couldn’t even properly enjoy his Debs, for God’s sake. Muldoon said:
“It’s very difficult to talk about yourself, but I saw Robbie playing as a schoolboy in The Sportsgrounds several years ago… He had his Debs on a Friday and, the next night, we had a friendly away in Harlequins.
“Robbie got in around 9am and his dad brought him over [to England] so he wouldn’t have got much sleep. But Robbie was the best player on the pitch.
“Bearing in mind, he had joined us a month before that and Eric Elwood had to convince an 18-year-old Robbie and his dad that he was good enough to be with the senior team. We all walked off that [Harlequins] pitch thinking – after having trained with him for three or four weeks – that, God, this kid is special.
“We walked off the pitch saying that it was only a matter of time before this kid played for Ireland.”
Henshaw proved all the Connacht players right. He made his full senior debut against Cardiff on September 1, 2012 and nine months later was playing for Ireland on their tour of America and Canada.
He doesn’t like to talk himself up but thankfully he has like Muldoon around to do it for him.
Man of the match 12 hours after rocking back from your Debs? The lad is not right…
