ROBBIE HENSHAW HAS 12 caps for Ireland already, but his World Cup debut is a thrilling proposition nonetheless.
Joe Schmidt, his coaching team, Henshaw’s teammates and all of Ireland’s supporters have been made to wait for this particular milestone, with a hamstring strain having denied the Connacht man a starting chance against Canada and Romania.
Now fully fit again, Henshaw returns to Ireland’s 12 jersey tomorrow against Italy at Olympic Park (KO 4.45pm) eager to make the impact he has promised to make since he was a standout player on the underage scene out west.
Ireland’s midfield has been an ever-changing feature so far this season and the foot injury to Jared Payne this week means there could be another change for the France game on 11 October.
For now, it’s Henshaw and Keith Earls who will face up against Michele Campagnaro and Gonzalo Garcia.
I’d say it’s probably a lack of continuity of selection and availability, but I’m hopeful it’s not a lack of consistency,” says Joe Schmidt of having named seven different centre partnerships across seven games so far this season.
“I’m hoping that they can continue to challenge our opponents and, at the same time, deprive our opponents of opportunity through the middle of the field.
“It’s great having Robbie back. For him, he’s going to take a little while to find his feet. At the same time, with Keith, he’s going to re-adjust from having been on the wing for the last couple of weeks.
“To be honest, it’s probably not ideal. It would be nice to have the security of Jared who had played the last two weeks at 13, especially because Robbie slotted between those two (Payne and out-half Johnny Sexton).
“But Keith adds a little bit of a different dimension and it’d be great if we can create a little bit of space for Keith because he’s been very good on his feet and he’s actually been a real threat every time he’s had the ball.”
Earls is certainly one of the most in-form Ireland players ahead of tomorrow’s clash with the Italians, but it would have been ideal for Schmidt to give the Henshaw and Payne pairing a run together in midfield this weekend.
Payne’s bruised foot is a concern ahead of next week’s training at this stage, although the hope is that he will run on Tuesday and then train with the squad on Wednesday in Newport.
The Kiwi native was the target of some criticism last weekend after a quiet outing against Romania, and though he indicated again that no player is an automatic selection, Schmidt did defend his outside centre.
“To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what has been said. It’s not something that would be a focal point for us, particularly not for someone who has done in-depth analysis of the game and not from someone who is close to us at all,” says Schmidt.
“So, we make our own decisions internally, we’ll continue to forge ahead doing that and if people, who are entitled to their own opinions, want to voice them then that’s entirely their opinion.
“We’ll continue to deal with what the visual fact is and what the known fact is in how he communicates and adds to the collective we have.”
France loom in the background even more so this week, but Schmidt never allows his players to lose sight of the more immediate challenge. This week it is Jacques Brunel’s Italy.
“I think we’ll get that very aggressive, pro-active line speed that makes it difficult to play against them,” says Schmidt of the Italian’s strength. “I think they’ll go after the set-piece and try to make the line-out a buffeting contest.
“I think they’ll try to get on the front foot at scrum time, and there are a couple of areas that they’ll identify as strengths for us that if they can unsettle us, they’ll potentially put us under pressure.
We just have to make sure that we are really well prepared for what they bring in those areas and can stick to what’s working for us and maybe bring in a little bit of new stuff that challenges them as well.”
Schmidt identified the three-pronged kicking threat of Edoardo Gori, Tommaso Allan and Luke McLean as a danger to Ireland’s attempts to control the game, while also underlining the leadership Sergio Parisse brings back into the fold.
In the wide channels, Campagnaro, Leonardo Sarto and Giovanbattista Venditti are all name checked. Schmidt probably knows this Italian team better than anyone, meaning he is sure to understand their weaknesses as well as the strengths he’s quicker to point out.
Can’t wait for the Irish invasion of the Olympic park tomorrow and for this game to kick off!
A lot has been said about Earls playing centre.
To be fair under Declan Kidney he didn’t look like a great as a test centre.
But it is a different ball game under Schmidt.
Kidney had no structure to his backline play and depended a lot on individuals to make things happen.
One thing that you can be certain of is that Earls will know his role tomorrow both in attack and defence.
And as a result both Keith and those around him will look a lot better than they did under Kidney.
I think that he will be fine.
I always wanted to see how Schmidt would use Earls as an attacking centre and tomorrow we will find out!
It’s great to see Schmidt develop this teams attacking ability in the World Cup and this selection is part of that overall plan.
However there is no doubt that Jared Payne is the forerunner for the 13 shirt.
It’s up to Earls to put in a big performance to put pressure on Payne.
And he still isn’t a centre…nothing has changed. He’s a world class wing and a very average centre. This could be big mistake
It won’t be a mistake. He may not be a world class centre yet but JS doesn’t make mistakes.
Well said.. Hope Earls has a massive game! I agree, Payne is out best option at 13 but it would be great to have another viable option.. If Earls can continue the form he’s shown on the wing and firm up on his defence then we’re laughing. A superb talent!
If Toner can be played out of the starting 15, I think we can seriously consider now that Earls will potentially be the starting 13 against France if he follows through on his current form this weekend. Very excited to see this centre pairing in action.
Earls is a better rugby player than Fitzgerald, personally I think he’s a world class winger but we need a centre and Joe says he’s a World Cup centre then that’s good enough for me.
Go for it Keith.
I just hope Keith takes a few months off rugby to display his World Cup winners medal either that or he signs for Leinster
Just don’t buy Earls at centre, Fitzgerald a much more secure option defensively and better dancing feet in tight spaces. Earls magic on the wing with space with his super acceleration
Earls greatest strength as a centre is his footwork. He also has lightening quick reactions and acceleration. Still prefer him on the wing though. I think he’ll have a stormer.
Here BJ if it’s all the same with You I’m gonna take Joes opinion over that of a acne suffering teenager.