Robbie Henshaw has his reasons for choosing a move to Leinster over remaining with Connacht. In an interview with the Irish Independent, the centre explained that his girlfriend lives in Dublin and he felt it was the best move for him at this point in his career. He also stressed that it was his decision - not the IRFU's.
It's also a great move for Leinster - a sentiment Brian O'Driscoll certainly agrees with.
Speaking on Newstalk's Off The Ball on Friday night, O'Driscoll relayed his empathy for Connacht but stated the Leinster fan in him wins out.
It's great for Leinster. I'll get my smugness out of the way very quickly. It's been touted for a long time and as a Leinster fan, I'm biased because they were my team and I want the best for them.
From Connacht's perspective, I feel the annoyance and disappointment of them and their supporters because it is one of their own and they've groomed him to be the player he is and now he is going to one of the main competitors because he wants a new challenge, or play with different or new players who are more likely to be internationals, I don't know what his rationale was.
It's his decision. One guy has never made a team and they will have to regroup. They've got some nice new players coming through and they've got a handy other centre in Bundee Aki.
Obviously losing an international centre of Henshaw's calibre is a massive blow for Connacht. O'Driscoll believes the 22-year-old's move east will hurt Connacht on the pitch in more ways than one. He thinks it could also affect their recruitment of foreign players.
You do want to hold on to your best players because foreigners coming over ask 'who do you have? who do you have in the Irish setup?', if they don't know the individuals themselves.
Kieran Marmion was on the bench for the first game, Nathan White and Robbie Henshaw and all of a sudden Marmion is gone, Robbie Henshaw is over to Leinster and Nathan White, when Mike Ross comes back, potentially is going to be relegated to the bench. Would he be there if Marty Moore was there? Maybe not.
It does have an effect with players who want to come on and win with a team and not just pick up a salary towards the end of their careers.
You can listen to O'Driscoll on Off The Ball below.
Picture credit: Sportsfile
