Alex McHenry: ‘Dad is really good. Almost like having my own psychologist’
Alex McHenry was thrown in at the deep end after his sudden loan switch to Wasps, but he is loving every minute of his new adventure as his career continues to progress.
Alex McHenry has thrown himself into his new life at Wasps — so much so he is currently living in a hotel on the Gallagher Premiership side’s ground.
It certainly will make for a short commute to home matches. “I’m actually staying at the CBS Stadium — there is a Hilton on site and I’ve been here for the last two weeks,” laughs McHenry. “I literally have to walk across the hallway to get to a home game. I can see the pitch from my room!
“We haven’t played a home game yet, but I went to the Exeter match a few weeks ago and I rolled out of bed straight into the stadium!”
The 24-year-old Munster centre’s hotel stay is born out of necessity. Earlier this month, he upped sticks from Limerick to sign for the English club who have been hit by an injury crisis.
It was an opportunity McHenry — son of former Irish professional golfer John — jumped at. Within the space of a week, he had jumped over the Irish Sea and his challenge now is to fill in for injured former All Black Malakai Fekitoa in the Wasps midfield. Talk about big boots to fill.
“About three weeks ago I got brought into a meeting with Johann van Graan and he mentioned there was a potential opportunity for me at Wasps,” McHenry explains.
“He asked me if I would be interested in going and straight away, I thought to myself, ‘100% yes.’ I wasn’t getting much rugby at Munster and only the day before I was speaking to Ian Costello.
“He was with Wasps previously and is now in charge of the academy at Munster — he made the link between the clubs. Wasps were looking for a centre and Ian thought I’d be a suitable candidate.
“In the space of five days the whole thing went through. I was in Limerick on one Friday and over in Coventry the following week. It’s been a complete whirlwind. I came into it very open-minded.
“I didn’t know any of the Wasps players or coaching staff when I came over. I drive out to Henley-in-Arden for training where Wasps have built a state-of-the-art facility. It’s unbelievable.
“The lads and the coaches have been massively welcoming from day one. I’ve been thrown straight in the deep end. I’ve been chatting away with Malakai since I’ve got here and he’s been very welcoming. His understanding of the game is incredible.
“I’ve sat down with him to pick his brains and he’s massively experienced. The way he views the game and sees things others don’t is crazy. It’s a big hole for me to fill, but he’s helping me try.”
Born in Cork, McHenry is Munster through and through.
A Munster Schools Senior Cup winner with Christian Brothers College in 2016, prior to that he captained Munster Under-19s to interprovincial success. He made his Ireland Under-20 debut against France in the 2017 junior Six Nations and also featured for the country’s sevens side.
After appearing for Munster A in the Celtic Cup, he made his senior debut at Benetton in April 2019 and signed a one-year contract extension in February of this year.
“At the moment the loan to Wasps is for a month, but I’m completely open to all opportunities. I’m at the stage of my career with the age I am that I just need to be playing rugby,” McHenry said.
“I’m born and bred in Munster and I’m very proud of that, but I’m open to all opportunities whether that’s at Wasps, elsewhere, or back at Munster. I just need to be playing. My mum and dad, my aunt and uncle, and two of my best mates from school who live in London came to watch my first game for Wasps against Saracens. It was really nice for me to have their support.
“My dad is really good. His main thing is for me to be happy. I’ve had challenging points in my career where I haven’t been selected or been dropped. He tries to help get the best out of me leading into games.
“Last week was such a massive ask going up against a team like Saracens. He gave me small things to help me mentally prepare and then told me to let my talent take over from there. It’s almost like having my own psychologist!
“My mum and dad are happy for me — they just want to see me playing, enjoying my rugby, and showing people what I can do. They were happy to see me make my Premiership debut even though the Saracens result was extremely disappointing.”
McHenry’s first Premiership outing was certainly a case of him going in at the deep end. A patched-up Wasps side were hammered 56-15 at Saracens.
McHenry started against an opposition which included England and British & Irish Lions stars Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Mako and Billy Vunipola and Jamie George plus countless other internationals. He is on the bench as Wasps travel to Bath today.
“The 80 minutes I had against Saracens showed me the ball-in-play time is much more than back at home in Ireland. Some of the collisions were huge too,” McHenry said.
“I couldn’t get over the ball-in-play time — there was a moment when I was thinking to myself, ‘Jeez, are they ever going to put the ball into the stands?’
“It’s definitely going to take some getting used to, but I loved the high tempo and we try throw the ball around and capitalise on mistakes from anywhere. We scored two tries from our own 22 against Saracens. It’s about having a different mindset.
“I’m massively grateful to Johann and Ian for giving me this opportunity. The main message was to make the most of gametime in the Premiership and show us what you can do.
“From my perspective, I want to show people what I can do. I’ve been waiting for a chance that I know I have in me in the ranks at Munster for a couple of years now.
“I want to play a high standard of rugby and get minutes under my belt.”
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