ROBBIE HENSHAW was one of the few Irishmen last time out who knew what it was like to lose to Scotland.
But he is also someone who has never won in Cardiff as he insisted that Wales recent woes do not fool him.
Ireland travel to Cardiff this Saturday to face Wales knowing a win will secure them a 14th ever Triple Crown having started the Championship with wins over England and Scotland.
That it is barely mentioned highlights how ambitions are higher and also how it is practically viewed as a given.
Bookmakers make Ireland 26-point favourites against a Wales team on a 14-game losing streak that led to coach Warren Gatland’s departure and Matt Sherratt’s interim appointment.
It is a normal position for Ireland to now be in; after all, they took on Scotland ten days ago having not lost to them in 11 games in a row.
But Henshaw played 12 games ago, and he also has too many bad memories of Cardiff – as he was injured for all Ireland’s recent wins at the Principality Stadium.
He said: “It’s an incredibly tough place to play. We’ve had some great battles with Wales over the years. Such a passionate crowd.
“And when the crowd get behind them and if they get a roll, they’re hard to stop. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. It’s going to be a huge test.
“Personally I’ve been delighted to be involved in the first two games. There has been a good vibe in the camp, huge positive.
“From our own point of view, we’re always looking at getting better, always looking at pushing the bar and there is always things we can get better at over those two games.
“It’s been good, looking forward to going again.”
But it will be a different Ireland team to the last two rounds with captain Caelan Doris (knee) and Ronan Kelleher (neck) joining Tadhg Furlong (calf) in the treatment room.
On the flip side, Joe McCarthy is available again after coming through HIA protocols having been ruled out of the opening two games after a training ground collision.
But for Henshaw, it simply means next man up.
He said: “It’s unfortunate for Caelan to be missing this week. I think he’ll hopefully be back soon.
“But to have someone like Jack (Conan) coming in and the strength in depth across the squad, it’s a great opportunity for lads who get the nod.
“It goes to the talent we have across the board in terms of the competition for places and the strength in depth, it’s great that we have people of that talent to step in.”
But Wales coaching change also means a slight step into the unknown, though assistant coach Andrew Goodman said he has been reviewing Sherratt’s Cardiff Blues team as prep.
Goodman said: “He’s going to have a week, a week and a half together with his squad so they’re going to be going after different areas.
“He’s a great coach, you’ve seen some of the great plays that he’s had with Cardiff over the years, he’s got a good attacking mindset so we’ll have a bit of a look at what they’ve done there.
“It’s all around what we do and our big rocks in our defensive system to make sure we’ve got all of those bits covered off and that we’re looking for different cues.
“We’ll have a look over Cardiff but also what Wales have been doing consistently over the last 12 months or so.”
