JAR IS A STAR
Henshaw heaps praise on Ireland colleague Payne
ROBBIE HENSHAW claims that Jared Payne’s insider knowledge will be vital to the Lions’ hopes of victory in New Zealand.
Henshaw was reunited with his Ireland centre partner when 30 members of the squad met up at Carton House on Sunday evening.
The Leinster star learned the Test ropes alongside Tauranga man Payne when they were pitched together for the first time by Joe Schmidt against South Africa in November 2014.
Ulster’s Payne, 31, was something of a surprise selection by Warren Gatland for the Lions after spending so long on the sidelines this season with a kidney injury suffered in the November Test series but Henshaw does not see it that way. “He’s obviously had a really tough season and was hampered by that pretty horrific injury against Australia,” said the Athlone man last night.
“But if you look back to how he played with Ireland last year, his performance against the All Blacks was pretty incredible. To have him outside me, he definitely helped a lot and he got us out of a lot of trouble in that game.
“Warren knows him really well from back in New Zealand, Jared told me that he coached him before. Based on his performances, though, he’s a key person to have in the squad.”
Henshaw believes as the weeks go on Payne will impart crucial information about what the Lions can expect in his home country. “I hadn’t seen Jared in a while so it was great to catch up with him,” said the 23-year-old. “I’m really looking forward to playing again with him if we get the chance, he’s a great guy. I love being around him and picking his brain because he’s such a talented footballer and has great experience. “The fact he’s from New Zealand and has played in New Zealand is a massive bonus to us as a squad as well because he knows the system. I think that’s an added string to our bow.
“We haven’t got into those chats yet but we’ll be looking for him to talk up and get some of his knowledge and experience.” Henshaw admits he is still processing Leinster’s PRO12 defeat to the Scarlets on Friday night but being in Lions camp is helping.
“It’s certainly taken my mind off the weekend which was obviously a big disappointment for us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Munster are in the PRO12 final and the province’s Lions picks could find themselves playing catch-up next week.
Gatland (inset) admitted: “We won’t be able to go over the same sort of things we’ve spent a couple of weeks doing with the squad.
“It’s going to put those players coming in next weekend at a slight disadvantage. They’ll have to school themselves, work with the coaches one on one and look at the training videos to get up to speed as quickly as they can.”