Some might have thought some kind of Champions Cup grieving process might have been required after Leinster suffered an agonising third final defeat in three years. But Robbie Henshaw advocates another way or processing things. Players are hot-wired to park disappointment and turn their thoughts to the next imperative. So, what is in front of the Irish centre occupies his mind more than what has just occurred.
With respect to Connacht last weekend, Ulster in the first stage of the knockout phase of the United Rugby championship (URC) this Saturday in Aviva Stadium will be a rigorous test of whether Leinster’s purge of thoughts of their Champions Cup calamity has been successful or not.
For Henshaw the disappointment of last year’s World Cup and last month’s Champions Cup were like groundhog days. Adreess it, learn from it and park it.
“The fact that we had a short week to turn the page was good for the club,” says Henshaw. “That we are not sitting there feeling sorry for ourselves. We had another job to do, play Connacht and that went well.
“I suppose the fact that we are into a quarter-final this week really turns the page. Now we have to be fully focused on Ulster because we can’t look back at the past and be thinking about that. I think it’s great we have these games coming up to focus on and to turn the mind to.
“You have to be open and accountable and be able to take it. Feedback, it’s not personal, everyone in the building knows it is for the betterment of the team if there are honest truths and feedback given and taken. It is always left in the room and we move on and try to use it to get better.”
With Henshaw playing 13 more often now than 12, he also faces different challenges than he did when Garry Ringrose was stitched into the outside centre shirt. He has more experience than Jamie Osborne and his defensive role and the work between the space out to the wings draws on awareness of all the moving parts.
Henshaw has risen to the challenge and has enjoyed some newfound freedom and space. While Ringrose’s shoulder has recovered and he has been reported by Leinster to be fully training this week, they may opt to stay with the pairing of Henshaw and the 22-year-old Osborne.
“He [Osborne] has been brilliant,” says Henshaw. “I think he has grown and he has got better and better the more he has played. I’ve been working well with him and the two of us have been working off each other. It has been enjoyable to play outside him.
“I’ve probably played most of my minutes at 13. It has been enjoyable as well. I’ve loved the bit of space you get. It has been good for the attack and it also keeps you on your toes defensively. You have to be sharp and you need to be on it for defence, for the team. I played most games last year at 12, so this year it has been at 13.”
It has been a long season for Leinster and given their international contingent, perhaps more so than it has been for Ulster. A kind of reset has taken place, although fatigue has not been a factor. There is energy taken from the possibility of a win this week and then there’s a different kind of challenge if a trip to South Africa materialises. With player rotation, the physical side of a long season is covered by the coaches, but player’s mental fitness is another thing entirely
“I think players and management are aware it’s been a long season,” says Henshaw. “We are not chasing anything down in training. There are a lot of miles on the clock, a lot of games in the bank. When you come to those last few games, it is more about being fresh, about being mentally sharp.
“You carry knocks throughout the season. I think we are into a year since we started prep for the World Cup. We got together in June. Players are aware that there have been a lot of games played. But there’s a lot of hunger in the squad. We know ourselves we’ve come up short the last few years. That’s driving us, that’s the clear focus from the get-go.”
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