Chris Henry and the Irish #7 Jersey

I've heard several Ulster fans praising his performances at openside. How close is he to the Irish #7 jersey and has he anything to offer internationally. Not a glamourous player compared with Sean O'Brien but could he rival Jennings for next in line?

I'd say he's down the pecking order stag. He's not an out and out 7 but his work rate and commitment are top class. I think he's been Ulsters most consistant performer this year so far along with Tuohy and deservedly is keeping out Faloon and Diack.

He really is playing very well and was outstanding on Saturday.

I don't think he'd let anyone down if Ireland called upon his services but I'd say the likes of POM, Leamy, Jennings etc. would be in front of him for a backrow slot.

I agree with Rodders I think he is quite far down the pecking order. It is good to see him perform so well for Ulster though.

Agree that Tuohy has been awesome this season so far too.

Are people happy with O'Brien at 7. Time and again I see Leinster struggling with him in the openside shirt and feel it could be the same for Ireland.

I do think if he keeps playing the way he is then we might see him feature around the Ireland squads and maybe add to his caps.

Backrow is our most competitive position though and I wouldn't see Henry in the top 4 or 5 backrows in the country if everyone is fit.

He isn't far off though and is playing better than I ever thought he would at this level. He certainly isn't making up the numbers in the Ulster back row. He is a genuine option and adds depth with his versatility.

red_stag wrote:Are people happy with O'Brien at 7. Time and again I see Leinster struggling with him in the openside shirt and feel it could be the same for Ireland.

He plays badly for Leinster at 7 because that means there isn't a player who is hitting rucks as you replace Jenno with McL. McL doesn't clear rucks and get quick ball the way Jenno does and thus doesn't give as much space to SOB to carry. It's not the number on his back that gets his but the others in the backrow

For Ireland....

Ferris is able to clear those rucks the way McL can not. Effectively Ferris is being the Jennings of the Irish team when SOB is at 7 for Ireland and Ferris cleans our the rucks with such power and aggression that gives the Irish 9 easy possession, easy possession means quick ball, quick ball means not set defence, not set defence makes it much easier for SOB to go through lads.

The problem with Leinster when SOB is at 7 is McL (or rather the lack of Jenno being there if McL was at 8 I'm sure that component would be fine) not SOB.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:I agree with Rodders I think he is quite far down the pecking order. It is good to see him perform so well for Ulster though.

Agree that Tuohy has been awesome this season so far too.

Would you say that us he played for Munster and (in my opinion massively over rated) O'Mahoney played for Ulster?

Sorry if it seems I'm picking on you, but it's high time Ulster players were given the credibility they deserve.

Sorry Glas not sure what the question is. Not taking a jab.

I think Henry is a more natural fit to openside than Sean O'Brien even though O'Brien is the better player.

BUT Henry has to show he can perform to the level he hit against Clermont every week before his name is truly thrown into the hat. He was really excellent and very, very physical in the Clermont game. If he shows that kind of form across the next couple of months he'll have put his name forward for sure.

We've all seen players lift themselves to play out of their skin in big one-off games with their home fans roaring them on, lets see if he can keep it up!

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:
He plays badly for Leinster at 7

Is that not a bit harsh (I realise I'm taking your quote slightly out of context,maybe you didn't mean it to sound like that?),he has had 2 relatively average half games for Leinster at 7 in the Heino and 1 against Munster in the league..H edid however get MotM in a couple of games last year playing at 7.
In all those games Leinsters scrum has been retreating,so I wouldn't say that he can't play 7 with McLoughlin at 6.On that note does McLoughlin push properly in the scrum as our scrummaging seems a lot better with SoB at 6 and Jennings at 7?

Glas, The Sky lads gave Peter O'Mahoney MOTM and POM has just gone 22 and his first HC appearance. Chris Henry is 27.

Good news, David Wallace is expecting to be back by Christmas. Started running last week so he should be in the mix for the 6Ns (and more importantly for Munster against Northampton!)

Glas a du wrote:

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:I agree with Rodders I think he is quite far down the pecking order. It is good to see him perform so well for Ulster though.

Agree that Tuohy has been awesome this season so far too.

Would you say that us he played for Munster and (in my opinion massively over rated) O'Mahoney played for Ulster?

Sorry if it seems I'm picking on you, but it's high time Ulster players were given the credibility they deserve.

Don't know what you are on about? Henry is getting praise and deservedly so. He's down the pecking order because there are a wealth of top back rows in Ireland not because he plays for Ulster.

I think it's harsh to call O'Mahoney overrated. He's a young lad with a lot of potential.

Sorry shoulder

It indeed wasn't meant to sound like that.
Where I stand on it is,

SOB is equally good at all backrow positions as long as he has someone else in the backrow to win him quick ball. that is very simplistic but is the essence, that is why he doesn't have his best games necessarily at 7 with Leinster because there is no Jennings.

He plays better for Ireland at 7 than for Leinster because Ferris is in there tearing rucks apart.

Apologies for the confusion

Henry needs to have more good games than he has been having lately to be considered for Ireland.. stag this is what I call a knee-jerk reaction!

SOB had his best game for Ireland at 7 with Ferris at 6 against Australia. He has shown he can play 7 and play oustanding there. As pete said the problem is that McLaughlin doesn't compliment his style of playing. Leinster need a Quinlan-esque player to play alongside O'Brien or else play Jennings at 7 and O'Brien at 6. Ferris and O'Brien work superb together.

The position that is up for grabs is 8 for me. Heaslip needs to either up his game or else either POM or Henry I think will take over here. Many ulster fans would say Henry is best at 8, and I personally believe POM is best at 8. Also Glas, not sure why you think POM is overrated. Have you seen him play?