Joe Schmidt rates Garry Ringrose highly. There is no question about that.
Schmidt believes Ringrose could be central to Ireland’s hopes for the next decade so he was in no rush to throw him in during a Six Nations campaign in which each Test became more important to win with each loosening grasp on their title.
The New Zealander was conscious of throwing in a fallow, eager youth against the big, bruising likes of Jamie Roberts and Mathieu Bastareaud. His time will come.
Ringrose got a full season of senior rugby under his belt and has put on half a stone in weight [muscle mass gains] in the process. He is ready for his chance now. It will come too.
The 22-year-old was at Carton House, last Monday, for a one-day training and review camp. The smart money would be on him making his debut against Canada, on November 12, but circumstances are dictating that it may be a week sooner – the All Blacks in Chicago.
The man to partner him in the Irish midfield? The same late that kept him company in the Leinster midfield at the weekend.
Ringrose and Henshaw won’t play much better than they did in the 24-15 win over Munster. If they do, Leinster and Ireland are going to do well.
Both have an appetite for defensive work and an understanding that they need to put in a shift amid the fray before they even think about attacking. When it comes to that part of the game, they could do with being a bit more selfish when it comes to try-scoring opportunities. Neither has an astounding rate of games to tries.
It will come, though. They came damn close on Saturday – Henshaw was a hair fibre away from crashing down over the tryline after Munster briefly thought the ball was a cake of slick soap. Ringrose will probably never shell another chance like he did with Johnny Sexton’s grubber again like he did on Saturday.
Ringrose has that all too rare ability of avoiding the opposition for sustained periods of time. The Brian O’Driscoll comparison may seem lazy but it is the most fitting. This is instinctual stuff. Much of its veering brilliance can’t be coached but it can be coached out of players. If there’s a free licence to dole out in that Leinster backline, it should be for Ringrose.
One game together for Leinster and we’re talking about tossing them in against New Zealand. Against two from Malakai Fekitoa, Ryan Crotty and Anton Lienert-Brown.
It will be tough as hell but Steve Hansen could throw out a couple of uncapped ITM Cup players and they’d test the best of teams. At least Ireland won’t be up against Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith. At least.
What are Schmidt’s other options? Stuart McCloskey looks like missing out and Luke Marshall is being looked at closely after copping another unfortunate concussion. Keith Earls limped off against Leinster too. Darren Cave clearly does not have Schmidt’s trust.
The obvious solution is the one we hope Schmidt avoids. Jared Payne could go back to 13 and partner Henshaw. This would be a regressive step as Payne proved himself to be Ireland’s best fullback against South Africa.
Ringrose and Henshaw potentially have three more games together – Castres, Montpellier and Connacht. We’ll try not to get ahead of ourselves but if they can up up their excellent momentum in those three games – and stay fit – they are our best shots.
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