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Henry lines up a turnover against Scotland. ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Back Row Battle

'We want to be a team that delivers every week' - Ireland's Chris Henry

The Ireland flanker feels it’s time for Ireland to string wins together, with Wales next in their sights.

“WE’RE FED UP of being an Irish team that performs one week and doesn’t the next. That’s certainly something that, as a group of players, we want to put to bed. We want to be a team that delivers every week, that puts in performances every week and gets results every week.”

Chris Henry sums up the feelings of a rugby nation.

Inconsistency has plagued Ireland for the last number of years, both in terms of results and performance levels. Having competently overcome a weak Scottish team in the opening round of this year’s Six Nations, Joe Schmidt’s men now have their sights set on taking down double champions Wales.

One of the major stumbling blocks on the path in that regard will be what Henry describes as a “world class” back row. A key focus for Ireland will be “blasting them out” as Sam Warburton leads the attempts to steal possession at the breakdown.

Openside flanker Henry may have a vital role to play in that battle, with his rucking ability having resulted in earning the Ulster man a starting place against Scotland last week ahead of Munster’s Tommy O’Donnell. That the number seven shirt was up for grabs at all is down to Sean O’Brien’s shoulder injury.

The shadow of the Leinster flanker will loom larger if Ireland fail to beat Wales, but Henry says he hasn’t focused on the pressure of replacing one of Joe Schmidt’s leading players.

There’s obviously going to be a lot of talk about Sean not being there, he is one of the best in the world. As for me, I just like to approach it in that, yes, he’s an unbelievable player but I like to think that I can add something different.

“There are certain aspects of the game that I can bring, but he can’t. Rugby is horrible in that way, people get injured and you take your opportunity. For me, last week I just tried to give everything out there. I certainly didn’t leave much out there. Hopefully that can be enough, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

imageHenry is determined to enjoy every minute of the Six Nations. ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan.

At the age of 29, Henry won his 10th cap against the Scots in Dublin. That encounter was Henry’s first start in the Six Nations; here is a man who has fought hard to make his way into international rugby. And still, as a mature, experienced player, he is learning.

Keeping a close eye on refereeing trends at the top level of rugby is part of that study process, the research need to stay ahead. Henry has been adapting his game recently with that in mind, as match officials penalise tacklers for failing to roll away with greater frequency.

“I think the biggest thing is that when you tackle, you make sure you get away from the contact area. If you look at a lot of the games last weekend, there was a lot of penalties from not being able to roll away. Sometimes it’s very hard if you’re tackling in a certain position, it’s nearly impossible to get out of there, but that is your responsibility as a tackler.

That’s something that I’ve tried to work on, that if I am going low, I try to tackle so I can get out of there quickly. I think I gave away one penalty last weekend for sealing off in the ruck going forward, but I think apart from that as a whole we were pretty clean and that’s the way we want to be.”

Henry cites that tight discipline as essential against Wales, particularly as getting on the wrong side of Englishman Wayne Barnes could be disastrous. With Leigh Halfpenny over the tee for Gatland’s side, there will be little room for error at the breakdown inside Ireland’s half.

There are tactical, technical, selection, mental and positional concerns for the Ulsterman this week in the build-up but through it all, Henry remains focused on enjoying every moment of his privileged position.

“I think any time I go out to play rugby, whether it’s for Ulster or Ireland, I do try to enjoy it. I think that’s probably come a wee bit with age, when you’re younger it sometimes can be a wee bit overwhelming. The occasion last week was just unbelievable. I absolutely loved it.

“There’s a bit of pressure, but you want that as it gets the best out of you. Certainly I think I’ve always been a bit of a smiler and I suppose it’s just a great feeling to be out there. To get the best out of yourself, you’ve got to enjoy it as well.”

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