THE LINKS BETWEEN Iain Henderson and Top 14 club Toulouse in recent days don’t appear to be concrete, but perhaps it’s no surprise that someone made such a connection.

Henderson is a top-class player with 70 Test caps and two Lions tours behind him. Toulouse are one of the best club sides around. The pair of them would actually be a good fit, even if it’s highly unlikely to happen.

Henderson’s current IRFU contract is up this year but it would be a surprise to see him leave Irish shores. He’s the Ulster captain and having only just turned 31 earlier this week, the powerful second row has plenty of excellent rugby ahead of him.

It’s well-known that Henderson has had more than his fair share of injury travails over the course of his career. Had he been a bit more fortunate, he might even be pushing on towards centurion status with Ireland. 

The last nine months or so have been a case in point for the frustration Henderson has had to deal with. Ireland had barely landed in New Zealand last summer when his tour was over due to a significant knee injury.

He made it back to feature for Ireland in their November Tests but then suffered two head injuries playing for Ulster in the months that followed. Thankfully, he recovered from those issues in time for this Six Nations but was understandably on the bench behind James Ryan and Tadhg Beirne.

Now, for a change, it’s Henderson who benefits from someone else’s injury misfortune. Beirne’s Six Nations is over and Henderson comes into the starting XV for tomorrow’s clash with Italy. All going well, the Ulster man looks set to start the remainder of this Six Nations as Ireland chase a Grand Slam.

It would be the second Slam of Henderson’s career if they can pull it off, while he is ambitious about going to his third World Cup with Ireland later this year. All of this is to underline that Henderson is proven to a level that other locks can only dream of.

Henderson with his family. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

We all probably still remember a young Henderson rampaging onto the scene with the Ireland U20s in 2011 before he made his senior debut the following year against the Springboks in Dublin. An explosive, marauding lock/back row hybrid, Henderson’s first two Test starts came in the number six shirt.

There have been none there since 2014, however, with Henderson becoming a mainstay in the second row from 2015 onwards whenever fit. He remains a punchy physical presence capable of highly dynamic moments, but he’s obviously a different player now.

Henderson’s skillset has changed and the game itself has changed. There are fewer opportunities for those rampaging carries given the quality of defences now. 

These days, Henderson is an experienced lineout technician and maul operator who delivers plenty of grunt around the breakdown while still carrying aggressively close to the ruck. He has soft hands so fits well with what Ireland are doing in attack these days. Defensively, he can jackal and choke-tackle with the best of them.

Henderson has been firmly established as a key figure at lock for Ireland for years and that’s not going to change any time soon. He, Beirne, and Ryan are the core group in this area of the team, with others some distance back as they chase.

So the hope for Ulster and Ireland fans will be that an announcement on a contract extension for Henderson is around the corner.

The Craigavon man still has a point to prove with his province. Henderson has been Ulster’s official captain since 2019 when he succeeded Rory Best and he has been honest about the disappointment of seeing Ulster’s long trophyless spell continuing.

As for Ireland, Henderson has started two World Cup quarter-final defeats so one senses that there is huge motivation there. The next few weeks hold plenty of promise in the Six Nations too.

He has achieved plenty in Irish rugby but Henderson remains a key figure with some unfinished business to attend to.