JOE SCHMIDT SAYS he will consider Robbie Henshaw at fullback after his was hit by injury withdrawals for the three-Test tour of South Africa.
Rob Kearney, who was picked as the only specialist fullback in Schmidt’s initial 32-man squad, will miss the tour after suffering a hamstring strain during Ireland training yesterday.
Henshaw made his Ireland debut at fullback against the US in 2013. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
It’s the latest in a string of hamstring and back issues for the 30-year-old, who will now focus on recovering full fitness in time for the start of the 2016/17 season.
Connacht’s in-form Tiernan O’Halloran has been called up to replace Kearney in the Ireland squad – with Matt Healy and Craig Gilroy added in place of the injured Dave Kearney and Luke Fitzgerald.
25-year-old O’Halloran is uncapped at Test level and it would be something of a surprise to see the former Galway minor footballer pitched in from the start for the first clash with the Boks in Cape Town on 11 June.
Though always used as an outside centre by Ireland, Jared Payne has featured impressively at fullback for Ulster this season and would have been viewed as a possibility to start at 15 against South Africa.
When that was put to Schmidt this afternoon he highlighted Henshaw’s ability to shift to fullback, while stressing the importance of Payne in the 13 channel in Ireland’s defence.
“We only really have one specialist full-back selected anyway so Jared was one of the options along with Robbie.
“Robbie has been playing some good rugby at full-back as well and that would still allow us to use Jared to control our edge defence. Some of those decisions we will make through training, seeing who is most comfortable in either position.
Schmidt also pointed out that O’Halloran’s form in Connacht’s run to the Guinness Pro12 title makes him a genuine contender for Ireland’s 15 shirt.
O’Halloran was outstanding last weekend. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
“And then we’ve got Tiernan, who really spiked at the end of the season. His confidence is high, he is in good form and he comes into the equation as well.”
With Luke Fitzgerald and Dave Kearney having been ruled out, Andrew Trimble and Keith Earls will be the favourites to start in the wing positions for Ireland, while Conor Murray and Paddy Jackson look set to be the first-choice halfbacks.
If Henshaw was to move to fullback, it would leave Ulster pair Stuart Olding and Luke Marshall vying for the 12 shirt. That pair of midfielders offer different strengths, with Marshall having served as the 24th man for Ireland throughout the Six Nations this year.
Olding, however, is a clever distributor and his footwork is exceptional . The 23-year-old has also bulked up in the past two seasons, much of which have been injury disrupted.