Farrell set to be the man to gain from Henshaw pain

It may have become one of the coaching staples to say one player’s misfortune is another’s opportunity but when you are the player handed the unexpected golden ticket that old line is as refreshing to hear as the first time it was uttered.

That is certainly the case for Chris Farrell, the centre set to profit most from Robbie Henshaw’s training-ground hamstring injury when Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt names his matchday squad for Sunday’s World Cup Pool opener against Scotland.

Henshaw’s enforced absence means Schmidt is almost certain to start with a midfield combination perming two of the three fit and able centres remaining in the squad, Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose and Farrell.

Farrell makes no pretence that Henshaw’s injury is anything but good news for him and his World Cup ambitions.

“It always is, rugby is a selfish sport,” the Munster centre said yesterday as Henshaw was declared by assistant coach Grek Feek to be “very, very unlikely” to feature against the Scots in Yokohama.

Obviously if I do get a chance over the next couple of weeks, I need to capitalise. If that’s this week or next week I’ve got to capitalise. You know that.

“There’s such quality in the centres and not just there. At least we’ve all played together. I’ve played 12 and 13 over the last couple of weeks, and I’ll be trying to take the opportunity if it comes.”

Farrell, 26, played his way onto the Ireland squad and the plane to Japan last week with more than competent performances at inside centre against Italy on August 10 in partnership with Ringrose, and again in his more customary 13 jersey alongside Aki in the victory over Wales in Cardiff on August 31.

Aki linked up with Ringrose in the heavy defeat to England seven days before Cardiff, while Henshaw made his only appearance of the summer’s pre-tournament Tests in the September 7 home win over the Welsh.

“It’s fairly seamless,” Farrell said of the different permutations.

“I feel like we must understand each other so well. I’ve been 13 for the last three or four years. You must understand the effect on your 12 no matter what you’re doing. You must understand the effect he has on you. It’s seamless enough to change over in the middle of a game.

“Ringer could easily step in at 12 at some point if needed and he’d do a phenomenal job because he understands what it takes to have a positive impact on the players inside and outside.

“At this level you have to do that, no matter where you are, I’m sure the back row is the same, I’m sure the wingers and full-back need to have that interaction too but at centre it is more than anywhere. It’s been good to play both of them. It was my first time playing with Ringer and it was enjoyable.”

If the call were to come this weekend, it would complete a long journey to the biggest tournament in the sport and the pinnacle for so many Test careers.

Four years ago, Farrell was at Grenoble, playing in the Top 14 as he sought to kickstart his career in France following an injury-hit spell at his native Ulster.

It took a return to Ireland with Munster in the summer of 2017 to revive his Test ambitions.

While the memories are fuzzy, a recent text from an old team-mate has cleared some of the fog.

“Was I in France watching it in 2015? I would have had to be. I don’t remember watching it at all but I got a text message the other day off David Mélé, he’s a scrum-half who played for Biarritz for years and played for Grenoble and Leicester Tigers.

He texted me and said ‘Congratulations, we were always saying in Grenoble that you would play in the 2019 World Cup’. That was a nice text to get.

“It would be a career highlight for me, for sure, and certainly if I get off the mark and get a game under my belt over the next few weeks.

“I just can’t wait to get going now. It will be nice to get the first game week over now and the pressure relieved.”