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17th September 2019
09:31am BST

Jacob Stockdale and Chris Farrell during Ireland's win over Wales in Cardiff. (Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile)[/caption]
The shame about Henshaw missing out is that he hit the ground running, against Wales, in his first game of the season. The Bundee Aki partnership was struck up again and looked Ireland's best bet for the World Cup.
"It's going to be important that whoever is at 13," notes Flannery. "You saw Henshaw and how high he got up on the outside and how he cut off that last pass."
Murphy believes Ireland will go with Aki and Garry Ringrose - their most used midfield combination of the past four years - but Trimble suggests Chris Farrell.
TRIMBLE: "Well, that was what people initially were saying but then, like, with the physicality you might get from Farrell, would there not be an argument there as well? But if he's getting high and you want someone to make reads the way Henshaw made, then that's probably Ringrose." FLANNERY: "Well, I think Chris Farrell is probably capable of that as well. But I would have thought that with Henshaw out, Ringrose would be the next man up. MURPHY: "Again, you pointed out last week that he becomes that utility player and that with Henshaw down, you would assume he'd go straight in. But that's not the case because, off the bench, he can cover everything across the backline."Trimble feels the advance notice of Henshaw missing out could well work out in the favour of Ringrose. Had Henshaw been ruled out late in the week, Farrell may have been dropped straight in.
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