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The time Brian O'Driscoll 'tested' Robbie Henshaw

Former Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll joined Wednesday Night Rugby on Off the Ball to reflect o...



The time Brian O'Driscoll 'tes...
Rugby

The time Brian O'Driscoll 'tested' Robbie Henshaw

Former Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll joined Wednesday Night Rugby on Off the Ball to reflect on the feisty encounter between Munster and Leinster at Thomond Park at the weekend.

Munster ran out 26-17 winners on the night but there were a number of flash points throughout the match with James Lowe seeing red while Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong were both sin-binned as tempers flared in Limerick.

However, one incident in particular between Johnny Sexton and Joey Carbery caught the eye of O'Driscoll, reminding him of his own playing days, telling Dave: "Is there a grudge with Joey there as well? That reaction at the scuffle on the Murray high tackle where he pulled him out of a ruck and Joey was third man in and it's 'master and apprentice' and he's setting down a marker - I've no problem with that.

"People were appalled by Johnny's behaviour in that incident - I think there's no harm in letting the incumbent know that you're not going to be easily displaced.

"I remember doing it with Robbie Henshaw towards the end of my career when he was playing with Connacht, just to test him to see if he had some bottle - if he has the nastiness in him - and sure enough, he did. I was massively impressed by that and sometimes you just want to test these people out and see if they have the mental resolve or not.

"And, I think there might have been a bit of that in Johnny's reaction with Carbery too," he added.

The pair will likely both be named in Joe Schmidt's Ireland squad for next month's 6 Nations when the men in green start their campaign with a clash against England in Dublin.

 

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Brian O'Driscoll Connacht Rugby Joey Carbery Johnny Sexton Leinster Munster Robbie Henshaw Thomond Park