Injuries invariably usher in a period of reflection when a player is stuck on the rehabilitation treadmill. If they arrive in a glut over a condensed time frame the threat of scarring from the mental challenge can be as vivid in some respects as the physical ones.
Patience, resilience and a pragmatic outlook are coping mechanisms. Robbie Henshaw will play his fourth game of the season in Leinster’s Champions Cup pool match against the Sale Sharks at the RDS on Saturday evening (5.30pm).
The 30-year-old centre played 80 minutes on successive weekends against Munster, Connacht and La Rochelle having missed the previous nine weeks with a hamstring injury, sustained while on Ireland duty at the World Cup. It caused him to miss the Romania match and then he suffered a recurrence in training after the South Africa game that ended his tournament.
While injuries have taken significant chunks out of his career from time to time, he’s learnt that looking head is the preferred view, just “turn the page and kick on,” to use his words.
Henshaw is a senior citizen in experience terms in the Leinster ranks and understands there is a greater onus to speak up and take the lead to try and mitigate the void left by recently retired captain, Johnny Sexton. It’s a responsibility shared.
He explained: “There’s a big hole left with Johnny leaving on the leadership side. I think it puts pressure on us to step up as the older guys now and I think the lads have done that really well in terms of making sure we’re adding in meetings, bringing new ideas. Coming back from the World Cup, it was exciting. You could feel a difference in the group, within the coaches and the players.
“James [Ryan] and Garry [Ringrose] lead the way as co-captains. It’s great. Tadhg Furlong’s stepping up in terms of his voice, Caelan Doris [too]; there’s a big group in terms of lads who’ve really matured and are taking it on. It’s good.”
Henshaw took on a practical application against La Rochelle, offering verbal and physical support, to first Harry Byrne and then Ciarán Frawley in last Sunday’s victory in France. Byrne won’t play this Saturday having suffered a head injury – Tadhg Furlong is also unlikely to play following the death of his father, James, a hugely popular figure in New Ross – so Frawley will wear the 10 jersey.
The primary focus for Henshaw in La Rochelle was to run a practised eye over the way the home side’s set-up and deliver that intel to Byrne. He explained: “It was about saying what I am seeing outside him. I thought Harry managed the game really well. He was unfortunate, when he took that high ball he landed awkwardly and then he took a knock after that.
“What I was saying to him was that he needed to keep applying pressure through his kicks. He had a lovely kick down the edge to pin them [La Rochelle] back in that right corner. He was flying. He took his kick well for the conversion and got the ball to space for Jordan [Lamour’s] try. He was really composed.
“When Ciarán came on it was giving him the same messages and making sure that we were not over-playing, that we were constantly applying pressure to them and making sure that we were putting the ball behind them. At the end I definitely said to him, ‘You have it in you to have a go for the kick.’
“He is a great lad, always keen to learn, keen to ask for feedback from those outside him and always looking for advice. He’s a great footballer, [has] a great eye for the game and a great feel. He’s definitely been challenged in terms of stepping up to run the team and to dominate, [with] his voice and through his actions. I have seen that when he has been in and out of Irish camp. He’s definitely grown, got better and better.”
There is a responsibility on Leinster to back up last week’s win against the two-time and reigning European champions La Rochelle with another high-quality display against the Gallagher Premiership leaders, Sale. Some of the challenges posed will be similar.
Henshaw said: “Sale have that power up front. Then with George Ford at 10, he has multi-attacking options with his running game and his kicking game. When he is playing well and on the front-foot he will get them going. Defensively we will be challenged with [Manu] Tuilagi in the middle. He will be coming hard down the channels.”
Still there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.
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