Robbie Henshaw of British and Irish Lions before the recent match against Japan at BT Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh
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Robbie Henshaw of British and Irish Lions before the recent match against Japan at BT Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh
Four years ago, Robbie Henshaw was vying as a central character in the greatest rugby show on earth until injury thieved his dream. Perhaps he was not entirely ready. Perhaps he may not have been trusted by the selectors.
Sadly, in 2017, he never got the chance to find out what he could offer.
Four weeks ago, Henshaw told us, with characteristic cautious confidence, how his ascension to enduring excellence in the past 18 months had been achieved thanks to the certainty provided by his once unco-operative body.
Happily, in 2021, it seemed he would finally get the chance to find out what he could offer.
Injury woe: Robbie Henshaw. Photo: Ian Rutherford/Sportsfile
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Injury woe: Robbie Henshaw. Photo: Ian Rutherford/Sportsfile
Four days ago, however, Henshaw was coming to terms with the realisation that the turmoil of New Zealand might be slowly returning to haunt him. His bid for a pivotal position in Warren Gatland’s Test team now hangs in the balance.
Gatland didn’t reveal the news until Friday but the Irishman had already begun the process of absorbing the familiar twinge from his disruptive hamstrings.
This unholy trinity of muscles behind his knee have hobbled him in the last two Rugby World Cups; injury seems to strike him down at the most inopportune moments, confronting him when he appears primed to conquer new heights of sporting achievement.
Other intrusions have removed him from gala occasions before, such as the majority of 2018’s Grand Slam-winning campaign and the win against the All Blacks the following November.
Henshaw’s abilities are rarely in doubt, only the facility to consistently display them.
Gatland’s carefully worded his comments after the farcical weekend run-out – “mild, mild”, as if repeated intonation might either alleviate or dampen the concerns about a man teed up by the Lions to play an integral part in this already compromised series.
He is as unsure as the player must be whether he is in the area of wish fulfilment or firm conviction when it comes to the errant hamstring.
After the unnecessary confusion about James Ryan’s status, and whether or not injury or merely his uncertain form precluded a potential call-up, Gatland will be keen not to take any risks with players who are struggling for fitness.
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Initially, the Leinster man was ruled out of Wednesday’s meeting with the Sharks in Johannesburg, but it now looks more than likely he’ll also sit out the clash with the Blue Bulls next week too. After that, there are just two more games against South Africa ‘A’ and the Stormers to impress before the main event. Time is running out and, unlike in 2017, there is precious little of that commodity available in this curtailed series.
Having started four matches last time out in New Zealand, injury denied him the opportunity to stake his claim for the series after he ruptured the pectoral muscle from his shoulder while attempting to tackle a bustling Vaea Fifita.
Having entertained realistic hopes of challenging for a starting position, instead Ben Te’o was the uninspiring selection and Henshaw was flying home just as the Lions were levelling the series after a second Test win with a hastily rejigged back-line.
Now, four years on, he faces a similarly anxious race against time.
Gatland is prepared to wait for him but he must also plot for an alternative option should his preferred gambit fail to make it to the starting line.
The task has been complicated by the ongoing issues affecting Owen Farrell, four years after his impromptu dovetailing with Johnny Sexton sparked life into the side after losing the opener against the All Blacks.
Farrell is now palpably struggling for form, and the ill-fitting stint at 12 on Saturday, outside the enigmatic Finn Russell, with whom it proved impossible to form any sense of meaningful combination, hardly helped matters.
Though Chris Harris was combative, this alone will not suffice in the white-hot atmosphere of a Test match; Elliot Daly’s interesting cameo, and the alternative kicking option he provides, might advance his credentials the longer Henshaw is hamstrung.
He is likely to start this Wednesday outside Bundee Aki; will the latter’s once ambitious aim to complement his old Connacht mucker now be supplanted by the equally bold goal of replacing him?
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Dan Biggar’s cortisone injection in his knee is another potentially looming headache for Gatland and the hope is that the Welshman’s assured presence can survive the minor handicap this week.
The lack of a competent goal-kicker helped turn the tide the visitors’ way when they last won here in 1997.
History’s harshest lessons always shadow these tours.
On a personal level, Henshaw can only hope that the ones currently clouding his progress will lift sooner rather than later.
