Robbie Henshaw

Robbie Henshaw
Full name Robert Henshaw
Date of birth (1993-06-12) 12 June 1993
Place of birth Athlone, Ireland
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight 103 kilograms (16 st 3 lb)
School Marist College
University NUI Galway
Rugby union career
Current status
Position(s) Centre / Fullback
Current team Leinster
Playing career
Position Centre / Fullback
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
Buccaneers
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2012-2016
2016-		 Connacht
Leinster		 77
0		 (55)
(0)
correct as of 10 Sep 2016.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2013
2013-
2013-		 Ireland U20
Ireland Wolfhounds
Ireland		 1
2
24		 (0)
(0)
(10)
correct as of 19 November 2016.

Robbie Henshaw (born 12 June 1993) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays primarily as a centre, though he has also played at fullback in the past. Henshaw currently plays for Irish provincial team Leinster in the Pro12, and internationally for Ireland.

Early life

Born in Athlone, Henshaw grew up in the suburb Coosan and was a student at Marist College in the town.[1] He was captain of the school's rugby team in 2012 when they won their first Connacht Senior Schools Cup in 35 years.[2] In addition to rugby Henshaw also played Gaelic football in his youth. He played for the Athlone senior team at just 18 years old,[3] and played for the Westmeath minor team in 2010 and 2011.[4][5]

Henshaw comes from a sporting family with a history of involvement in the GAA,[6] while his uncle David Henshaw played rugby for Buccaneers and Connacht.[7][8] The family also has a lot of musical talent, with Henshaw himself playing the accordion, fiddle, guitar and piano.[1]

Rugby career

Connacht

Henshaw was part of the under-age set up with Connacht, and was part of the Connacht team that completed a Grand Slam in the Under-20 Interprovincial Championship in 2011.[9] He entered the Connacht academy ahead of the 2012–13 season.

Henshaw was given his first cap for Connacht's senior team by Eric Elwood on 1 September 2012. He replaced Eoin Griffin at outside centre against Cardiff Blues in the opening game of the 2012–13 Pro12.[10] Henshaw made a total of 17 appearances in the competition, with all but three of these coming as starts, and scored his first try for the side on 12 April 2013 against Edinburgh.[11][12] He predominantly played as a fullback over the course of the season. Henshaw made his European debut for the province in Connacht's opening pool fixture of the 2012–13 Heineken Cup against Zebre on 13 October 2012, and went on to start in all of Connacht's Heineken Cup matches that season.[13] In December 2012, Henshaw signed his first senior contract with the province, a two-year deal keep him with the province until the end of the 2014–15 season.[14]

Ahead of the 2013–14 season Eric Elwood left the province and was replaced with Pat Lam. Despite the change of coach, Henshaw continued to play regularly for Connacht, being used both at fullback and centre. He played 18 times in the 2013–14 Pro12, starting all but one of these games and scoring three tries.[11] Henshaw also started all six of Connacht's games in the 2013–14 Heineken Cup, including a victory over Toulouse in France.[13] Henshaw signed a contract extension with Connacht in November 2013, extending his time with the province to summer 2016.[15]

In the 2014–15 season, Henshaw spent more time with the Irish team so didn't feature as much for Connacht. He played 12 times in the league, starting each time, and scoring a try against the Cardiff Blues.[11] In Europe, Connacht took part in the 2014–15 Challenge Cup, the second tier competition. Henshaw started four of the team's six pool stage matches, scoring two tries against La Rochelle, and the quarter-final against Gloucester.[13] He also started in Connacht's final game of the season a play-off for the final spot in the 2015–16 Champions Cup. Connacht again faced Gloucester away, and were leading 18–25 in the final minutes of the game, but a controversial penalty decision from Romain Poite gave Gloucester a try-scoring opportunity and sent the match to extra time, after which Gloucester emerged 40–32 victors, Henshaw having played the full 100 minutes.[16]

Henshaw missed Connacht's opening games of the 2015–16 Pro12 due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup. He returned to the squad in October, but wasn't available to play until November, when he was named in the side against Benetton Treviso.[17][18]

On 14 February 2016, it was confirmed by Connacht Rugby that Henshaw would be leaving the province at the end of the 2015-16 season. He decided to join Leinster Rugby after the 2015-16 season [19]

On 28 May 2016, Henshaw was part of the Connacht team that won their first ever major trophy, the 2015–16 Pro12 after a 20-10 win against Leinster in the final.[20]

Leinster

On 8 October 2016, Henshaw made his debut for Leinster in a 25-14 Pro12 win against Munster at the Aviva Stadium.[21]

Ireland

Henshaw represented Ireland at various under-age levels during his development. In November 2011, he became the first player from Marist College or any Athlone-based school to represent the Irish schools team, and was part of the team that won the Under-18 European Championships.[2] He also represented the country at under-19 level.[14]

Henshaw was named in Ireland training squad for the 2013 Six Nations Championship,[22] and played 58 minutes at fullback for the Ireland Wolfhounds in a friendly against England Saxons on 25 January 2013.[23][24] Henshaw was released from the senior squad in February and made his debut for Ireland Under-20 on 8 February 2013, starting at fullback in the side's 16–15 victory against England.[25] Henshaw made his senior debut for Ireland against the United States on 8 June 2013, starting at fullback at the age of 19.[26] He came off the bench against Canada on 15 June 2013.[27]

Henshaw was the only Connacht player called up to the Ireland squad for the 2013 GUINNESS Series.[28] He came off the bench against Australia on 16 November 2013, firstly as a blood-replacement for Brian O'Driscoll and then as a replacement for Rob Kearney.[29]

Henshaw started for Ireland Wolfhounds in their friendly against England Saxons on 25 January 2014.[30] On 27 January 2014, Henshaw was named in Ireland's 34-man squad for the opening two fixtures of the 2014 Six Nations Championship but didn't play in the tournament.[31] He made two appearance in the 2014 end-of-year international wins against South Africa and Australia.

In 2015, Henshaw was included in the Ireland squad for the 2015 Six Nations Championship.[32] On 1 March 2015, Henshaw scored his first try for Ireland in a 19-9 victory over England in Ireland's third game of the 2015 Six Nations.[33]

Henshaw was included in the Irish squad for the Rugby World Cup in 2015. After missing out on a place in the first pool stage games against Romania and Canada, Henshaw resumed his role in the starting team for his World Cup debut against Italy. Henshaw went on to play full games against both France and Argentina, the latter of which saw Ireland reach the end of their World cup journey.

On 5 November 2016 Henshaw scored the winning try against New Zealand in Soldier Park, Chicago. Henshaw parted the New Zealand defense with a thunderbolt before proceeding to saunter casually through to dot down, meeting little resistance.

References

  1. 1 2 "Tackling things together... Robbie Henshaw and dad Tony". Irish Independent. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 "From Senior Cup to World Cup in three special years". Irish Independent. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Athlone v Tubberclair - 3rd September". Athlone GAA. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "10 famous people you'll never believe played GAA as a teen". The42. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Robbie Henshaw's GAA's past remembered". GAA.ie. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Henshaw's Gaelic football skills come in handy!". Hoganstand.com. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015. Henshaw - whose family is immersed in Athlone GAA
  7. ↑ "'A dream come true' as Robbie relishing life in the big time". Irish Examiner. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2015. Henshaw, whose uncle David played for Connacht in the ’90s
  8. ↑ "Club History". Buccaneers RFC. Retrieved 5 November 2015. notable personalities and players over the decades included [...] David Henshaw
  9. ↑ "Connacht Under-20s Celebrate Grand Slam Success". Irish Rugby. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Jones try enough for Blues to see off Connacht". Pro12. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 "Connacht Squad Index: Robbie Henshaw". Pro12.
  12. ↑ "Pro 12: Edinburgh 24-32 Connacht". BBC Sport. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 "Player Archive: Robbie Henshaw". European Professional Club Rugby.
  14. 1 2 "Henshaw Signs Full Contract With Connacht". Irish Rugby. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "Connacht Confirm New Deal For Henshaw". irishrugby.ie. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Champions Cup play-off: Gloucester 40-32 Connacht". BBC Sport. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  17. ↑ "Nathan White back in Connacht squad as Pat Lam makes changes for Edinburgh clash". The42. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015. Lam has also revealed that Robbie Henshaw should be back to full fitness in time for the province’s next fixture against Treviso next weekend.
  18. ↑ "Henshaw at fullback as AJ MacGinty prepares to make Connacht debut from the bench". The42. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "Robbie Henshaw to Leave Connacht Rugby". Connacht Rugby. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "2016 Pro12 Final: as it happened". The 42. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  21. ↑ "Guinness Pro12 as it happened: Leinster 25 Munster 14". Irish Independent. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  22. ↑ "Ireland Training Squad Announced". irishrugby.ie. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "O2 Ireland Wolfhounds Squad Announced". irishrugby.ie. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  24. ↑ "Wolfhounds Lose Grip On First-Half Lead". irishrugby.ie. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  25. ↑ "Daly Kick Gives Ireland U-20s Dramatic Victory". irishrugby.ie. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  26. ↑ "O'Mahony Leads Young Guns To Victory In Tour Opener". irishrugby.ie. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  27. ↑ "McFadden Hat-Trick Helps Ireland Surge Clear Of Canada". irishrugby.ie. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  28. ↑ "Joe Schmidt names extended squad for November series". Irish Times. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  29. ↑ "Ireland Undone By Four-Try Wallabies". Irish Rugby. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  30. ↑ "Wolfhounds Hold On For Hard-Fought Victory". irishrugby.ie. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  31. ↑ "34-Man Ireland Squad Named". Irish Rugby. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  32. ↑ "Henshaw ready to emerge from the shadows for Ireland". Irish Independent. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  33. ↑ "Ireland see off England to stay on course for Six Nations glory". Guardian. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.

External links

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