Iain Henderson has been tipped to be a British & Irish Lion for years now. The predictions look to have come true but Ronan O’Gara still wants more.
The Ulster forward has been selected by Warren Gatland as a second row but his ability to cover blindside definitely helped get him a plane ticket to New Zealand.
Former Ulster and Ireland teammate Stephen Ferris predicted a big impact from ‘Hendy’ on The Hard Yards rugby podcast [from 21:10 below] but O’Gara is not convinced. Not yet anyway.
https://soundcloud.com/thehardyardssportsjoe/episode-12-lions-squad-reaction-champions-cup-preview-and-andy-powell-antics
“I think he has a bit to go,” O’Gara argued. “I wouldn’t agree that he’s a monster. I don’t see that in his performances yet.
“To me, he seems like a clean pro. The monsters for me are the Quinlans, the Leamys, the Ferris’s, the Sean O’Briens, in the back row. I don’t see that yet.”
“I think he needs to add dog,”
O’Gara pointed to Ferris’ rag-dolling of Australian scrum-half Will Genia at the 2011 World Cup and rhetorically asked if the shell-shocked Wallaby was not placed on the ground.
“You can be sure he walked all over him when he dumped him!”
A smiling Ferris simply nodded.
O’Gara continued, “I think the animal in Henderson has yet to come out.
“You’d love to be able to play behind him with a baseball bat and hammer him so he’s really on edge all the time.
“That will bring his game to a whole new level – when he’s on edge.
“You’d love sometimes if he just lost it because, as Fez said, the days of talking about potential are over. He needs to kick on to a new level.”
The former Munster and Ireland outhalf did acknowledge how Henderson was often the man that made things happen in training matches, even at an early age, but he needs that anger coursing through his veins to become an altogether different package.
Perhaps the challenge of playing with the best of the Lions best will bring it out of the big guy.
If not, O’Gara always has that baseball bat…
