Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw expects tough Six Nations test against Wales
Sunday 15 March 2015 18:05, UK
Robbie Henshaw believes Ireland's inexperienced centre partnership will face their toughest Six Nations test to date when they face Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies will pair each other for the 38th time on Saturday, with Connacht’s Henshaw and Jared Payne working alongside each other for only the fifth occasion.
Roberts and Davies will combine from the start as part of an unchanged Wales line-up following victory over France in Paris and Henshaw knows Ireland must work hard to keep them at bay.
"I think it could definitely be the toughest test for me and Jared," said Henshaw.
"Wales are very direct but also they run decoy lines with Roberts coming up, only to throw it out the back and go wide.
"It's going to test us big-time, so we've got to be prepared and stay connected in defence, and just keep our communication up all day.
"The fact that they are at home and that they play their best rugby at the Millennium, they're going to cause a massive threat for us.
"So we're going to have to be squeaky clean on the day in terms of our discipline and we're going to have to take all the chances we get.”
Ireland come into the game on the back of a 19-9 victory over England that left them as the only country to retain a chance of winning the Grand Slam and in doing so, retain their Six Nations crown.
Henshaw believes Wales will offer a different sort of challenge to that offered by Stuart Lancaster’s side, though, with the Cardiff clash expected to see a more expansive brand of rugby than that seen against England.
"It might be more open than the England game, but we want to stick to our game plan and follow through on what the coaches want from us,” he added. "It's not going to be more than a two-score game though.
"They are not predictable either: they have a lot of different options available to them with Dan Biggar at 10.
"He gives them a good attacking threat and good aerial skills in the team. We're just going to have to be prepared for anything.”
