When a fresh-faced Brian O’Driscoll made his international debut on June 12, 1999, Robbie Henshaw was busy; he was blowing out the six candles on his birthday cake. Now 21, the Athlone native – ordained by O’Driscoll himself as his natural successor – faces the prospect of making the No. 13 shirt his own.

“It’s definitely a little bit intimidating!” laughs the Connacht man, considering the legendary status of his predecessor. “I mean, what an absolutely massive role to fill.”
Henshaw may not yet be a household name, but his position as heir apparent to the outside-centre berth has been acknowledged within Irish rugby for a while. The recipient of the IRUPA Young Player of the Year Award for the past two years, the full-back turned centre has been producing sterling performances in the Connacht shirt for a number of seasons. As the new campaign begins to pick up steam, he tells Hot Press that he’s looking towards another shade of green.
“International ambitions are always in the back of my mind. I had a bit of an injury setback (requiring hand surgery at the end of last season), and missed the tour to Argentina in June; missing out on a couple of caps was pretty annoying. At the moment, it’s just about playing well for the province. It’s very hard not to get distracted when you have people talking to you every day about next year’s World Cup! It's tough; everyone's so keen on asking these questions, because it’s what everyone is looking forward to.”
Of course, the road to England 2015 begins over the next few weeks, as Joe Schmidt’s men knuckle down for the Autumn Internationals. Henshaw admits that, even at this early point in the season, things are starting to heat up.
“The November Series is the starting place in terms of building the squad. Obviously, you want to be there as a player; realistically, it’s where everyone wants to be. Hopefully, I will.”
At the risk of tempting fate, it seems unlikely that Henshaw won’t have an opportunity to add to his pair of Test caps. A physical presence in the centre of the park, he is equally impactful in attack and defence, his ball-carrying abilities matched by crunching tackles and keen work at the breakdown.
Indeed, his efforts to follow in O’Driscoll’s footsteps have turned the head of another Test rugby centurion. Legendary All Black Mils Muliaina – a recent signing at Connacht – described his new teammate as ‘a machine’, and heaped praise on both his physical nature and the way he plays the game. Unsurprisingly, the Athlone native is quick to repay the compliments.
“Mils has been great. He’s been doing some coaching with us, as well as his own bits of training. To bring in a 100-cap All Black is nothing short of invaluable; it’s not very often you get one of those on your team! He’s not too far from getting back on the pitch himself following an elbow injury. That’s something I’m really looking forward to – the average age of our backline is about 24, so he’ll bring some real experience.”
Rugby dressing-rooms being as they are, one assumes those young ‘uns have reminded Muliaina of his advanced years from time to time?
“He’s been getting a little bit of stick alright!” Henshaw laughs. “But it’s all part and parcel of it, really. It shows how well he’s settled in at the club.”
Indeed, it’s all rosy in the West right now. A strong opening to the season sees the side sitting in the top half of the Guinness Pro12 table; rarefied air for a team who have struggled to shake the ‘fourth province’ tag.
“It’s been a great start. If we were offered this position, at this point, we would taken it. Things have changed since twelve months ago. It was Pat Lam’s first year as coach last year; there were new players and new ideas too. It shows that we now know what we’re doing. It might have taken a year for us to get going, but things are gelling and we’re all coming together as a unit.
“We’re striving to finish sixth – if not higher,” he continues. “We want to get back into the main European competition, the Champions Cup. At the moment, that’s the main goal.”
There’s plenty to occupy his mind off the field; juggling studies at NUIG and his duties as ambassador for Connacht sponsors Life Style Sports, any periods of downtime are filled. Right now, though, you get the feeling that there’s only one place that Henshaw wants to be.
“I just want to play. I want to be selected in the team, and get some more caps. At this moment, though, it’s about focusing on performing; playing good rugby and always improving is the main thing.”
And for inspiration, Henshaw can turn towards the subject of our Hot Press Interview.
“You look at Dave Kearney last year, where he had an amazing run from November into the Six Nations. When he got a chance, he took it with two hands. He did a good job in every game he played, and it really paid off for him. It goes to show how concentrating on your performances will see you get opportunities; he’s the perfect example of that.”
Challenge Cup games against La Rochelle and Exeter await in the coming weekends; the Wallabies and the Springboks might be lurking just around the corner.