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'He has another 40% to come' | ROG predicts Henshaw improvement

The 24-14 win over Wales has been widely described as Ireland's best performance since the glory ...



Rugby

'He has another 40% to come' | ROG predicts Henshaw improvement


The 24-14 win over Wales has been widely described as Ireland's best performance since the glory of 2018's Grand Slam and victory over New Zealand. 

However, while it was an improved showing from most at the Aviva Stadium, Ronan O'Gara believes a number of players still have more to give beyond this year's Six Nations.

The former Ireland international was speaking on Wednesday's Off The Ball and singled out Robbie Henshaw as one player who can still push on to another level.

"We saw an awful lot more from him and I've been watching him for a long number of years and I still think there is another 40% to come. I genuinely do."

The 26-year-old may have made his Irish debut seven years ago but O'Gara argued that Henshaw is yet to reach the highest standards he always looked capable of as a young player.

"Just every time he gets a run he's cut down, he's had bad luck either with lower back, into chronic hamstring, into breaks, into dislocated shoulder - that's a big one.

"There was huge promise from him at the weekend. I was in the Irish camp with him for a number of years and he was a really impressive passer."

"So I think he's lucky now in the fact that he's had all Joe Schmidt's brilliant guidance, then he's had the different spark from [Stuart] Lancaster, now he's getting a different spark from [Andy] Farrell.

"Talking to Mike Catt for him will be really interesting because he is just getting, I suppose, another layer of learning which he can filter into games."

Andrew Conway

O'Gara also discussed the importance of Andrew Conway after his own difficult journey to become an established international.

"The most staggering thing about Conway is, 19 out of his 20 [caps have been] victories in a green jersey. What a record. I don't think you have anybody else with that record.

"It's great and that's what experience does. He hasn't had it all plain sailing either. He was probably one of the most talked-about schoolboys in Ireland. He had the frustrations in Leinster, Leinster wanted to keep him and I think Andrew wanted a change of scenery.

"If you look at his try against Toulon for Munster - the individual brilliance. But he has been consistently good and he's making some really hard back-three skills look easy which is a credit to him.

"Also, he's incredibly fit and he has a huge appetite for work."

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Andy Farell IRFU Irish Rugby Robbie Henshaw Ronan O'Gara Six Nations