Put yourself in Robbie Henshaw’s boots for a moment.
The Connacht and Ireland tyro is coming to the end of his contract out west and this morning indicated he would begin coming towards a decision on his future over the Christmas period.
The brightest young talent in Irish rugby has been heavily linked with a move east to Leinster, while Munster would also be delighted to welcome Henshaw to their ranks.
The IRFU may yet step in and nudge the young man in one direction or another, but should the decision fall to him, the 22-year-old centre is keen to look over all his options before deciding where he will continue his rugby career.
“I have to look at my options and, I suppose, coming up towards Christmas we’ll have to have a look. I can expect it to be an ongoing process,” Henshaw told Newstalk FM.
“At the moment I have to get all my options on the table and then I’ll have to see what’s best for my career. I’m not making any decisions yet at the moment. I’m just waiting until all the options come in and then I’m going to assess what is the best for my career.”
For Leinster, news of Henshaw’s pending arrival would be a huge boost to a province facing up to a lost season in Europe following defeats by Wasps and Bath, but there is always the risk that a continued spell of poor results could discourage any switch to the RDS.
And Leinster’s upcoming schedule is hardly set up to aid a lift in morale, with a brutal list of fixtures between now and the New Year.
Back-to-back Champions Cup fixtures against a Toulon side wounded by yesterday’s defeat at Wasps loom large in mid-December, but before that Leinster welcome Ulster to Dublin and travel to Pro12 champions Glasgow.
Another pair of tough derbies follow Toulon, as Leo Cullen brings his men to Thomond Park after Christmas before tackling Henshaw’s Pro12-leading Connacht side on New Year’s Day.
Whatever decision Henshaw does make, he seems certain to spurn lucrative offers from abroad to remain in Ireland, stating: “I suppose, in terms of the French teams in the Champions Cup, their players are obviously being paid a significant amount of money, but I suppose I’d love to play all my rugby in Ireland at the moment.
“I’m still quite young so I wouldn’t be thinking of leaving for a while. Further down the line it could be an option but at the moment I don’t think so.”
