Johnny Sexton called him “insane”. Keith Earls described him as ‘a freak’. To James Downey, he is “super-human”.
Robbie Henshaw returned 10 weeks after shoulder reconstruction to dominate the midfield – and plenty of collisions – for Leinster in their Champions Cup semi-final victory over Scarlets.
Henshaw dislocated his shoulder in the act of scoring a try against Italy, in early February, and many suspected his season could be done. No chance of that. The 24-year-old went straight into rehab, as soon as his shoulder “procedure” was done, and his rapid comeback impressed all those around him.
Five days out from Leinster’s 38-16 throttling of Scarlets, Stuart Lancaster talked Henshaw up a sight – saying he was posting record speed and reaction times in training – but we suspected there could have been some Barnum & Bailey showmanship going on.
No, Lancaster flagged it and the world saw it. Henshaw tore into Scarlets from the moment Romain Poite’s whistle blew and he did not let up all match. The centre’s remarkable was discussed on The Hard Yards [from 8:00 below] and it raises interesting questions about Ireland’s summer tour to Australia.
Former Munster and Ireland centre James Downey commented:
Credit: Rugby Pass“I know I was talking about Robbie being back training but I didn’t think he had a chance [of facing Scarlets]. He’s had a shoulder reconstruction 10 weeks ago. 10 weeks he was getting oxygen at the side of the pitch. I was like, ‘No way’. To get back to that intensity of a game took a super-human effort from him. Unbelievable.
“Everything he did – he tackled ferociously and, again, he dovetails so well with Garry Ringrose in their partnership together, in attack and defence. I don’t want to take anything away from Robbie but Garry has such a great way of going about things. He makes things look so easy and people take that for granted.
“Robbie was immense, given the fact that he hadn’t played in so long and the level of his performance.”
While Henshaw won most of the plaudits, Ringrose got through a bundle of attacking and defensive work. There may not have been many scything line breaks or scores but his range of passing and defensive awareness are pure class.
Ringrose produced an excellent turnover midway through the first half against Scarlets – when Leinster were facing a 4-on-2 overlap – and his pass to Fergus McFadden for the third try was a gem:
Ringrose allayed any doubts, during the final two Six Nations games, that he may not be robust enough to prosper at the top level – just ask George Kruis – but it is the seamlessness of his partnerships that really impress. He worked well with Bundee Aki, on Ireland duty, but his combination with Henshaw is another level up again.
To my mind, and as good as Aki was during a Grand Slam-winning campaign, Ireland’s midfield for Australia should be the Leinster duo.
Give the rate at which Ireland ate through outside centres during the Six Nations, however, Aki, Rory Scannell and Sam Arnold can all come too.
