“The days of talking about potential are over.”
Those were the words of Ronan O’Gara about Ulster and Ireland lock Iain Henderson ahead of the 2017 Lions Tour to New Zealand.
The tour is now in the history books and the Test Series drawn 1-1. Henderson made five appearances on tour but did not feature in the matchday squads for any of the Test matches.
His effortless, brute strength was excellent around the breakdown [see below] and he showed both lovely footwork and clever passing in attack. His finest hour was against the Hurricanes but, ultimately, his yellow card was key in the Lions coughing up a 31-17 lead to draw the game.
Warren Gatland praised Henderson on several occasions but went with Courtney Lawes as his impact sub for the final two Tests.
O’Gara was impressed with what he saw of Henderson in New Zealand. Having spoken, in the past, of the player needing to push on in the Ireland team, O’Gara made a bold prediction on The Hard Yards rugby podcast [from 24:00 below].
O’Gara commented:
“Look at that game [against Hurricanes] in the Cake Tin and, between Henderson and Lawes, it looked like there were three of them. I think playing against those sort of teams suit him, because there are so many opportunities to carry the ball.
“He’s front-up and his foot-work is so good. For a big guy, he has excellent foot-work and his capacity to play the ball out of the tackle makes him really suited to the New Zealand model.
“I think he, deep down, would have gotten a taste of that. He knows the level [required] and I think he’s going to explode next season. It’s going to be fascinating watching him.”
You heard it here first – Henderson to take his Lions [midweek] form into 2017/18 and firmly establish himself in the Ireland team heading towards the World Cup.
We agree with O’Gara and want him to team-up with Ultan Dillane in the November Series. Imagine that combination in full flight…
Some XV https://t.co/b3E3UvOrqp
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 12, 2017
Henderson will definitely have a point to prove. He sure is good enough.
