Ulster v Leinster: Henshaw expecting a 'bit of craic' with McCloskey in Interpro
- Published
Robbie Henshaw's consistency for Leinster and Ireland is one of the reasons why Stuart McCloskey has earned only six international caps despite his regular excellence for Ulster
United Rugby Championship: Ulster v Leinster |
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Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast Date: Friday, 30 September Kick-off: 19:35 BST |
Coverage: Watch on BBC Two Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer; report and reaction on BBC Sport website |
Leinster centre Robbie Henshaw says he's expecting some on-pitch chat with fellow Ireland centre Stuart McCloskey in Friday's interpro against Ulster.
Henshaw's form for Ireland is one of the reasons why McCloskey has earned only six Irish caps despite his consistency in the Ulster jersey.
"I know Stu really well," Henshaw told BBC Sport NI's The Ulster Rugby Show.
"We'll have a bit of craic I would say on the pitch as well. We'll have a word or two."
While Henshaw appears to be looking forward to the battle with fellow inside-centre McCloskey, who was called up as a replacement to Ireland's successful tour of New Zealand, the former Connacht player adds that he is delighted to see Luke Marshall back in the Ulster midfield after his injury woes in recent years.
"It's great to see Luke Marshall back playing after having a few tough years of injuries. It's brilliant to see him back."
British and Irish Lions centre Henshaw says Ulster doing the double over Leo Cullen's side last season will be in the Leinster players' thinking this week.
Ulster earned a 20-10 win over an understrength Leinster line-up in late November last year before repeating the dose in March with an 18-13 victory at Kingspan Stadium in a re-arranged game following the Covid-enforced postponement of the scheduled festive fixture.
"Going up to Kingspan is always an exciting fixture for us. That's in the back of our minds that Ulster got us twice last year.
"Credit to them, what they have been doing under Dan McFarland is pretty impressive. He's really brought them to new levels.
"You can see that their game plan and structures are working. Last week they had a really impressive win against Scarlets and we know going up there it's going to be hostile.
"We'll have to fight for everything if we are going to come away with a win.
"But it's great to have interpros this early in the season. It's nice to have them when you are fresh and everyone is raring to go."