Henderson eager to stake claim ahead of Italy clash
SUDDENLY Ireland’s second-row options don’t look so bad after all.
In a matter of days, the landscape has improved significantly for Joe Schmidt, who must have been cursing his luck that arguably the strongest area of his squad was decimated by injury.
Iain Henderson’s recovery powers continue to amaze and his latest return ahead of schedule has not only boosted Ulster ahead of their trip to the Ospreys this evening, but it has also strengthened Schmidt’s hand for next week’s clash against Italy.
It was perhaps telling that Quinn Roux, who performed so well against Scotland, was not released to play with Connacht this weekend, as Ireland did not want to take any chances and risk losing another lock.
However, with Tadhg Beirne having stepped up his recovery from a knee injury in Munster this week and Henderson deemed fit enough to start for Ulster tonight, Schmidt will be reassessing his options.
Devin Toner’s absence has opened the door for the remainder of the Six Nations, and maybe even for the World Cup, if one of the other viable options can strike up a formidable partnership with James Ryan over the coming weeks.
When Paul O’Connell retired after the 2015 World Cup, pretty much everyone assumed that by the time Japan rolled around, Ryan and Henderson would be mainstays in the engine room.
Yet, it hasn’t exactly panned out that way as Toner remains the fulcrum of the lineout, while Henderson’s repeated injury setbacks have not helped his cause.
The 26-year-old now has an ideal opportunity to stake his claim against the Ospreys as he overcomes the finger injury that has kept him out since he returned from a separate hand issue.
All-action
Schmidt had expected to be without the all-action lock until the latter stages of the Six Nations and having healed quicker than expected, Henderson will be eyeing an immediate return to the match-day 23 in Rome.
Roux will have something to say about that, but the reality for the Connacht man is, having been left out of the initial squad, Henderson and Beirne remain ahead of him in the pecking order when fit.
Despite running this week, Beirne was never likely to be involved for Munster, which paves the way for Henderson to announce his return with the kind of performance that everyone knows he is capable of.
Earlier this week, Ulster assistant coach Dan Soper revealed that Henderson hadn’t yet done “a lot of catch and pass”, but having proven his fitness sooner than expected in the past, there is plenty of confidence that he can pick up where he left off last month.
With Ulster facing three crucial games in their quest to secure automatic Champions Cup qualification for next season, Dan McFarland will welcome Henderson back with open arms.
The northern province face Ospreys (away), Zebre (home) and Dragons (away) in the coming weeks and their chances against the Welsh side are also boosted by having John Cooney and Jordi Murphy available.
Having gotten out of jail against Benetton last time out, Ulster will have been relieved to have gotten the draw, but at the same time, not getting the victory could well come back to haunt them later.
Three weeks is a long time to mull over that disappointing result, which should make McFarland’s men primed for a big response on the road against an Ospreys side who are well in the hunt for a playoff spot of their own. With Henderson back in the team and eager to prove a point as well as Murphy and Cooney, who will be full of confidence having gotten Six Nations minutes under his belt, Ulster may well have enough firepower to edge what is likely to be a titanic tussle.