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Henshaw could make shock positional switch for England match

Robbie Henshaw

Joe Schmidt is allegedly poised to throw an opening weekend Six Nations curveball by possibly selecting midfielder Robbie Henshaw at full-back to face England next Saturday in Dublin.

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With Rob Kearney absent from Ireland’s warm-weather camp in Portugal last week, RugbyPass understands midfielder Henshaw trained in the No 15 position in a development that will add a level of intrigue ahead of Thursday’s team announcement.

Positional changes have been a hot topic in the build-up to the championship. Schmidt’s England counterpart Eddie Jones got great mileage from his claim a few weeks ago that Exeter winger Jack Nowell could potentially operate at openside for England during the championship.

This suggestion was openly ridiculed, a slew of former English internationals bemused that the back three player could suddenly be shunted into a forwards role he has never played in. However, Henshaw has proven pedigree at full-back even though he hasn’t started a match in the position since Connacht’s April 2016 PRO12 demolition of Munster in Galway.

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The 25-year-old made his 2012/13 provincial level breakthrough in the position, even going on to make his Ireland debut at No15 against USA in June 2013. But he has since become an out-and-out midfielder and he returned to action in this role for Leinster’s round six Champions Cup win over Wasps eight days ago before flying to Portugal.

His availability has created a selection headache for Schmidt. Henshaw damaged a hamstring in the lead-up to the November win over Argentina, leaving Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose to star as the combination in the Irish midfield in the following week’s win over New Zealand.

With both Aki and Ringrose now fit and ready for Six Nations duty along with Henshaw, Schmidt could potentially accommodate all three by omitting Kearney.

The long-serving full-back, who was at his best when beating the All Blacks, has had a frustrating winter since then. An injury niggle kept him out of Leinster’s last three European pool matches, forcing him to skip national camp in the Algarve for a PRO14 start last Friday versus Scarlets.

There has been speculation that Schmidt would favour using Leinster’s Henshaw/Ringrose partnership in the Ireland midfield to face England. However, Aki has made himself indispensable since making a November 2017 debut, starting in 12 of Ireland last 15 matches and only missing games against Fiji, Australia (second Test) and USA.

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Soliloquin 2 hours ago
Fabien Galthie announces France squad to take on the All Blacks

It’s understandable that NZ and other countries relying on their national team for revenue push for highlighting test matches as the biggest thing.

The problem is that it seems like France is being held responsible for other nations’ business model.

The business model hasn’t really changed since 2018, when France last toured NZ. They came as always with a B team, with a rather weak team by international standards back then, as it was the case with France during the 2010s.

Yet still almost all tickets got sold (50000 at Eden Park, 34000 in Wellington and 27000 in Dunedin). The interest was there.

So what has changed between that 2018 tour and the upcoming one?


In my opinion, it seems like the French business model has flourished, with the JIFF policy strenghtening the positions of French talents and less foreign players, the financial health of French clubs dominating the NH, the revigorated national team with what could have been 4 6Nations titles (the 2020 and 2021 were super close) and the emergence of top players in every positions, with arguably the best current rugby player in the world.

On the other hand, Covid has dismantled the financial basis of many federations, the departure of SA franchises from Super Rugby has weakened the competition, NZ are not the reference anymore, SA is dominating the test match competition, with Ireland and France pushing hard, although the Irish seem at a crossroads.


But again, why would it be France’s fault that NZ problems exist?

Is the French team responsible for structural problems in NZ’s rugby?

Nope. But it’s probably easier to blame the French to not give it all in terms of marketing with superstars coming, live on past glory, to cling on the view that until Dupont doesn’t tour SH, he cannot be seen as the best in the world.


Sorry, but most of French fans don’t really know NZ players.

They come in to see the French team against the All Blacks in the Autumn Tests.


And I don’t think anyone in NZ came to see Doumayrou, Parra, Belleau, Teddy Thomas or even Serin or Fickou in 2018. They came for the mighty All Blacks, the Barrett brothers, Savea, Whitelock, Aaron Smith…

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