O'Connell's presence 'invaluable' to Ireland set-up says Henderson

Iain Henderson follows in Paul O'Connell's footsteps as he captains Ireland against Italy and he now appreciates the Munster man's 'desire and love' for the game of rugby.

CAPTAINING IRELAND: Iain Henderson will captain Ireland for their RWC warm-up game against Italy. Pic: ©INPHO/Evan Treacy

A proud day today for Iain Henderson. His first and, to date, only experience of captaining Ireland came against France during covid and behind-closed-doors and fair to say that it could have gone better.

A two-point defeat at the Aviva Stadium in a game where he spent 15 minutes on the sidelines getting a head injury sorted, confirmed a third straight Six Nations defeat for Andy Farrell’s side. This was still the darkness before the dawn.