Robbie Henshaw takes over the stage

Robbie Henshaw saw that it was on. When Craig Joubert raised his arm to signify a potential penalty for Ireland just outside England’s 22, Henshaw’s mind backtracked to the countless hours spent in Carton House preparing for just such a situation with his scrum-half.

He didn’t go mad. He could have waved his arms about like a drowning man desperate for air, but this 21-year-old did no more than share an almost imperceptible nod with his Munster colleague. And it was more than enough.

Within seconds he had scored his first try for Ireland.

“We were getting good go-forward ball and they made an infringement and we got a penalty advantage,” he explained later. “I just spotted the space in behind Alex Goode because I was up with the line and I just backed myself then. I caught Conor Murray’s eye.

“We had practised it a couple of times where, if we did have a penalty advantage, we would put in a kick over the top and have someone chase it. I just happened to be there and gave the nod to Conor and thankfully got on the end of it.”

It was a moment searingly similar to that eight years ago when Shane Horgan plucked Ronan O’Gara’s cross-kick out of the Croke Park air. Henshaw remembers that. He had barely scraped the surface of his teenage years as he sat at home watching it, drinking tea.

The speed at which he has matured in the years since is nothing short of astonishing and this first try for his country, allied to his first man-of-the-match award, is one more significant staging post on a trail already littered with them.

“He’s physically very impressive,” said Tommy O’Donnell when asked for a perspective. “He’s over a 100 kilos and he’s got incredible explosive power. He attacks the gain line and he’s just very level-headed and secure under a high ball.”

“He’s a great talent and it’s incredible to unearth a talent at such a young age”

Hopes for Henshaw have always been sky high and, though there is always the fear the pressure on young shoulders may prove intolerable, he is, if anything, showing form that suggests maybe he wasn’t rated highly enough.

His centre partnership with Jared Payne has knitted together quickly and effectively since their introduction in November and each passing game brings with it the promise that the pair are edging closer to a scenario where their offensive capabilities can blossom.

“Yeah, I think so,” said the younger of the partners. “We’re definitely getting closer. We’ve improved since the start of the championship and we’re looking to build on this now and that starts on Wednesday up in (training camp in) Belfast.

“We’re gelling really well as a back line and we’re certainly doing what we can for the team.

It’s just about hopefully staying injury-free and keeping this unit close together and working together hard.”

Joe Schmidt was as taken as everybody else with the manner of Henshaw’s try — few would appreciate more the return on investment put in on the training paddock more than the Kiwi — but the Ireland coach likes the basics taken care of too and Henshaw is obliging in spades.

“I just felt his tackle count was massive,” said Schmidt. “He made 31 tackles in the first two games. It is very, very seldom that a midfield player is your top tackler. It is usually a backrow and that is no offence to our backrow, because it is chopped and changed a lot from game to game.

“So, they have not had the same opportunity to accumulate that many tackles, but in 160 minutes to accumulate 31 tackles … and they are top quality tackles as well, the bulk of them, and he certainly made a few more today.”