Henshaw and romaine named in ireland teams for six nations tests
After his try-scoring exploits against England, it comes as no surprise that Robbie Henshaw has retained his place in the Ireland rugby team for Saturday’s Six Nations showdown against Wales in Cardiff.
The only change to the Ireland team is an expected one, with Jamie Heaslip – who missed the England game through injury – returning in place of Jordi Murphy.
Henshaw was named man-of-the-match against England after scoring a superb try when he caught a kick from Conor Murray ahead of England’s Alex Goode.
The Coosan native has a huge amount of respect for the Wales centre partnership of Jamie Robert and Jonathan Davies.
Henshaw told ‘The Irish Sun’ today (Wednesday): “I think it definitely could be the toughest test for us. The Welsh centre partnership is up there with the best in the world. They have a really physical threat and massive size in that 10-12 channel from Jamie Roberts, and then a very good ball player and direct runner in Jonathan Davies.”
“They are going to test us big time this week but we are fully prepared for what they’re going to throw at us. Wales are very direct but also they run decoy lines with Roberts coming up, only to throw it out the back and go wide. We’ve got to be prepared and stay connected in defence, and just keep our communication up all day.
“This Wales team is absolutely not past its peak. The fact that they are at home and that they play their best rugby at the Millennium – they’re going to be a massive threat for us,” Robbie added.
Meanwhile, Buccaneers player Cian Romaine has been handed a starting berth for the Ireland U20 team’s game against Wales – while Stephen McVeigh from Glasson has been named among the subs.
Romaine has been selected in the second row alongside Josh Murphy, and McVeigh will be hoping to make his U-20 international debut. Fellow Buccaneers players Rory Moloney will miss the game due to injury.
IRELAND Team v Wales, RBS 6 Nations Championship, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Saturday, March 14, kick-off 2.30pm
15. Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
14. Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
13. Jared Payne (Ulster)
12. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht)
11. Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)
10. Jonathan Sexton (Racing Metro 92)
9. Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
1. Jack McGrath (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
2. Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
3. Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
4. Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster)
5. Paul O'Connell (Young Munster/Munster) (capt.)
6. Peter O'Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)
7. Sean O'Brien (UCD/Leinster)
8. Jamie Heaslip (Dublin University/Leinster)
Replacements:
16. Sean Cronin (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
17. Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
18. Martin Moore (Lansdowne/Leinster)
19. Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
20. Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
21. Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
22. Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster)
23. Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster)
IRELAND U-20 Team v Wales U-20s, U-20 RBS 6 Nations, Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, Friday, March 13, kick-off 7.45pm
15. Billy Dardis (UCD/Leinster)
14. Ciaran Gaffney (Galwegians/Connacht)
13. Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster)
12. Sam Arnold (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
11. Stephen Fitzgerald (Shannon/Munster)
10. Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster)
9. Nick McCarthy (UCD/Leinster) (capt.)
1. Jeremy Loughman (UCD/Leinster)
2. Zack McCall (Queen's University Belfast/Ulster)
3. Oisin Heffernan (Terenure College/Leinster)
4. Cian Romaine (Buccaneers/Connacht)
5. Josh Murphy (UCD/Leinster)
6. Nick Timoney (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
7. Conor Oliver (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
8. Lorcan Dow (Queen's University Belfast/Ulster)
Replacements:
16. Adam McBurney (Ballymena/Ulster)
17. Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster)
18. Conan O'Donnell (Sligo/NUIG/Connacht)
19. David O'Connor (St. Mary's College/Leinster)
20. Stephen McVeigh (Buccaneers/Connacht)
21. Connor Young (Queen's University Belfast/Ulster)
22. Joey Carbery (UCD/Leinster)
23. Jacob Stockdale (Queen's University Belfast/Ulster)