3:37am, 28 January 2019

Joe Schmidt is allegedly poised to throw an opening weekend Six Nations curveball by possibly selecting midfielder Robbie Henshaw at full-back to face England next Saturday in Dublin.

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With Rob Kearney absent from Ireland’s warm-weather camp in Portugal last week, RugbyPass understands midfielder Henshaw trained in the No 15 position in a development that will add a level of intrigue ahead of Thursday’s team announcement.

Positional changes have been a hot topic in the build-up to the championship. Schmidt’s England counterpart Eddie Jones got great mileage from his claim a few weeks ago that Exeter winger Jack Nowell could potentially operate at openside for England during the championship.

This suggestion was openly ridiculed, a slew of former English internationals bemused that the back three player could suddenly be shunted into a forwards role he has never played in. However, Henshaw has proven pedigree at full-back even though he hasn’t started a match in the position since Connacht’s April 2016 PRO12 demolition of Munster in Galway.

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The 25-year-old made his 2012/13 provincial level breakthrough in the position, even going on to make his Ireland debut at No15 against USA in June 2013. But he has since become an out-and-out midfielder and he returned to action in this role for Leinster’s round six Champions Cup win over Wasps eight days ago before flying to Portugal.

His availability has created a selection headache for Schmidt. Henshaw damaged a hamstring in the lead-up to the November win over Argentina, leaving Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose to star as the combination in the Irish midfield in the following week’s win over New Zealand.

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With both Aki and Ringrose now fit and ready for Six Nations duty along with Henshaw, Schmidt could potentially accommodate all three by omitting Kearney.

The long-serving full-back, who was at his best when beating the All Blacks, has had a frustrating winter since then. An injury niggle kept him out of Leinster’s last three European pool matches, forcing him to skip national camp in the Algarve for a PRO14 start last Friday versus Scarlets.

There has been speculation that Schmidt would favour using Leinster’s Henshaw/Ringrose partnership in the Ireland midfield to face England. However, Aki has made himself indispensable since making a November 2017 debut, starting in 12 of Ireland last 15 matches and only missing games against Fiji, Australia (second Test) and USA.