ROBBIE HENSHAW HAS signed a new two-year deal with Connacht and the IRFU, keeping him at the province until 2016.
The Ireland international has joined teammates Kieran Marmion, Willie Faloon, Craig Ronaldson and Matt Healy in tying his future to the western province. This news comes as a big boost to head coach Pat Lam as his side continues to struggle in the RaboDirect Pro12.
Henshaw’s signature is an important move for the province, given his status as a three-cap international at the age of just 20. The former Westmeath underage footballer also represented Ireland at U18, U19, U20 and Wolfhounds levels.
The centre/fullback was limited to a brief appearance off the bench in Ireland’s defeat to the Wallabies this month, but he is sure to play a more significant role over the coming years. At Connacht, Henshaw’s switch to his more natural position of outside centre has been a great success this season.
His power and pace make the 20-year-old a difficult proposition to mark, while his aggression has been noticeably improved in defence recently. Henshaw only made his senior Connacht debut last season, at the end of which he was voted Connacht Senior Player of the Year and won the IRUPA Nevin Spence Young Player of the Year Award.
Speaking after signing his new contract with the province, Henshaw said:
I’m absolutely delighted to have signed a new contract with Connacht. Playing for Ireland recently was a huge honour and I was so proud to be representing my home province as well as my country.
“It’s been an unbelievable 15 months and I’m so happy that I was given my first chance here at Connacht and can now continue to improve under Pat and the coaching team.”
Head coach Lam was equally pleased to have secured the young star’s signature:
“It’s fantastic that Robbie has committed his future to Connacht Rugby. He is an extremely talented young man and is constantly improving as a player. I’m pleased that he sees Connacht as the place for him to continue that progress, playing week in week out in big games.
“Robbie has proven himself to be one of the best young players in the country and I have no doubt that he will continue his remarkable career both with Connacht and Ireland.”
Fantastic news for us Connacht fans. He’s an amazing talent and delight I’ll be seeing him in the sportsground over then next few years.
Two years to go before Leinster steal that particular Connacht player then. Is there any way Leinster can poach him before that or are Connacht safe for that period of time from their grubby, greedy hands as regards Hensahaw at least?
I’d sooner see him move to France than Leinster
Really? What have you against Irish rugby?
Another Jackeen who thinks Ireland ends at the boundary of the M50 when most people know that that is where it actually begins. I’d rather see Henshaw play for a French club than for Dublin as well.
Really? Wow, you seem to know a lot of stuff. Good man. How about a proper reason for your comment, and not a pathetic anti-Leinster rant?
Johnny Sexton is barely in France a wet week and there has already been a clash between his club & the IRFU! I’d prefer Henshaw to stay with Connacht but failing that, play for another Irish province over a French club. Keep Irish players in Ireland! The bigger issue is the getting the IRFU to offer more support to Connacht to help in their development as a club.
I wasn’t exactly happy to see Carr and McCarthy move east, bit far better that players be involved with Irish provinces than chasing money in France. It’ll be interesting to watch what happens to Wales at international level with the exodus they’re experiencing.
Rabble rabble rabble. Thats all I read from your post. So much bitterness i cannot fathom it, but im getting pretty sick of seeing it on every single irish rugby page. Youre whats wrong with irish rugby supporters, you and your buddy philip ryan and all the other parochial bile filled untermenschen who come onto these sites with your poisonous posts. Ive had enough tbh, Im sure others have too.
“Untermenschen”. My God, James, no wonder Leinster are hated so much by the other provinces, that’s straight out of the The Idiot’s Guide to Eugenics. Who the hell is Philip Ryan? Of course , no “parochial bile filled ” fans in Leinster, that’s only for the “untermenschen” outside the Pale. So when exactly are you stealing Henshaw and Marmion, and are Planet Blue joining the Rugby Champions Cup as you your ‘uberfuhrer’ Dawson was hinting at?
did i say there weren’t any leinster “parochial bile filled ” fans? did i even mention a single province(s) as being the problem? thats the first think you jump onto, something i never said. your the issue frank, you and your ilk. Philip Ryan? a famous troll from this site, up there with you with his bitter mutterings. and leinster is more than dublin buddy, 12 counties last i checked, your blinkers must be compromising the red mist your looking through.
James, dont bother trying to have a reasonable debate, it only encourages more stupidity ………
Will ye quit yer whinging, this article is about a potential superstar staying with his province, and in Ireland. Always the Munster Leinster crap resurfacing. This is good news lads!
What a load of bull. What happens when the English and French get their way and Leinster don’t qualify Conaught for the HC, you’d rather these young players playing at the bottom of the rabbo losing every week than play for Leinster.
Your a bitter mob. Luckly for these players they have an option to move to one of the big 3.
Hopefully when the kid is ready he’ll settle into the RDS quickly and fullfill his potential
I’m not sure why you are putting your own words in quotation marks, champ, but the implication in them was clear, and any doubt removed when you included “red mist”. It’s clear that the current first choice incumbents of the numbers 9 and 13 jerseys at Leinster are at or coming near to the end of the road. It’s clear that the best young prospects in Ireland in the numbers 9 and 13 jerseys are playing for Connacht. Given Leinster’s history of pillaging Connacht talent, why are you getting so upset when it is speculated they will swoop to poach them again when it is clear from precedent that the IRFU will facilitate Leinstertainment in doing the very same again whether that be in the short term or in 2 years time? I want to see Connacht supported in every way, and that means keeping their best players rather than the current policy of them being used as a development side for the other three provinces – but mainly Leinster. But seems your blue tinged glasses are compromised in that and you see Connacht as something akin to the Leinster academy. Personally I don’t think that’s good for Irish rugby, and certainly not for Connacht ,but they don’t care about that in Dublin.
wrong post frank, silly boy
my post is alllllllllllll the way down the bottom of the page, looks like your talking to yourself
That’s some comeback, champ. Not surprising that that is the best you can do when you have been so badly rattled by a member of the “untermenschen”.
fine frankie, here we go with a “proper comeback”, in inverted commas too (quotation marks to you).
theres no conspiracy behind me putting my “own words in quotation marks”, just cut and paste from your post. not everyone is out to get you frank of the red mist.
its not really “clear” (oops, i did it again) that the best young 13 is playing at connacht, despite your beliefs. stuart olding up ulster way would be the most talented 13/12/10 (take your pick cos he plays them all) to come through the irish system in a long time. in fact, with the glut of young centres coming through at ulster would it not make more sense for the irfu to facilitate a transfer from ulster to leinster rather than “pilage” (direct quote from you, in case your wondering) connachts academy (or the leinster west academy as we like to call it inside the walls of “the pale”)? you seem to know best regarding the machinations of the irfu though.
and again i dont see where your kieran marmion snipe is coming from? with john cooney and luke mcgrath coming through the leinster system why the need to plunder a player only a couple of years older? your paranoia frank is slightly worrying.
connacht are no longer classed as a “development side” old boy, theres a plan in place to get them up to speed with the rest. so though your “support” is admirable its a little out of date.
so to summerise from what youve written so far, and ill para-phrase this as if its a direct quote from you so theres no confusion, “i support ireland, but f**k leinster” – Frank Buckley
fyi they moved franks post to its correct position. i am not an idiot (though i have been called worse)
Oh, and Jimbo, I clicked on the “Reply” button at the end of your last comment, just like the last time. And just like the last time it still appeared above. Take it up with the IT department of The Score if it upsets you again.
Leave out your childish pettiness, James, it’s beyond tiresome now, and instead tell me about this grand plan for Connacht. Not any plans instigated by themselves, but you seem to infer some grand plan from a higher authority. Did this plan include facilitating McCarthy going to Leinster (when they had Cullen, Toner Denton and Le Roux,) Cronin going to Leinster (when they already had Strauss and Dundon) and Carr going to Leinster (where they had any amount of good wingers and he hardly got a game). And do you honestly think Ulster are going to allow the pillaging of their best players to Leinster like has been forced upon Connacht?
who said anything about a “grand” plan? just a plan instigated by the irfu, have a read http://www.irishrugby.ie/news/21230.php
a player wants to move to a more successful province? heaven forbid ian keatley would do that to…..
facilitate, not pillage, you cant force a player to leave.
my issue is you frank. another pathetic, bitter provincial “fan” spouting his bile diatribe because he discovered the only outlet available to one and all
That’s 3 years old., Burt. What has it done? Nor did you, or that, answer my questions about the movement of the best players away from Connacht. – which are mostly to Leinster. How did this plan stop Leinster from pillaging Connacht’s best players? As for Keatley, I didn’t want him then and I don’t want him now as I’d rather we went with our own and JJ has far more potential than Keatley ever did (nor do I want Leinster rejects like Conway, who will only be another Kieran Lewis anyway). As for “bitter provincial”, take a look in your ‘das Herrenvolk ‘ mirror, champ.
i do like munster frank, sorry to disappoint. you wont find me bad mouthing them here or any other forum. you dont like being called out for what your at so stick your mirror chief, theres only one provincial bigot in this conversation.
i did answer you re players leaving connacht but you chose to ignore it because it didnt suit your argument. if a player wants to move to a more successful province when he’s out of contract who can stop him? which leads me onto keatley, again massaging your truth to suit the argument. because you didnt want him absolves munster of poaching him in your eyes? double f**king standards there frank, your argument is getting pretty thin.
that 3 yr old plan (what does it matter that its 3 yrs old – nonsense) helped to focus the connacht branch….they built a new stand, increased season ticket holders massively, got equal footing re heineken cup qualification, encouraged better quality players to move west. hardly coincidence this all happened the same time as the plan was put in place
The irony of a fella who uses words like “untermesch” as an insult then using dramatic language like “bigot” is completely lost on you. You did not answer me, and when I said I didn’t want Keatley it was both in terms of my judgement of him as a player and the principle of stealing him from Connacht. I never said Munster were not guilty of stealing ( did you think I didn’t know where Keatley came from?) But lets be honest here champ, we all know who are the biggest pillagers and thieves of Connacht talent. And we know who will continue to be the biggest thieves and pillagers of Conncaht talent. As for this 3 year plan, how did it stop Leinster from taking those players? It even had Sean Cronin posing in , FFS. What Connacht achieved re ticket sales etc is down to themselves, no one else can take credit. And equal footing in HEC qualification? Finish above the one of the the other 3, all of whom have bigger budgets and playing and backroom staff. and all3 are going to finish in the top 6 of the Rabo – minimum. Equal my arse.