Robbie Henshaw speculation not a distraction for Connacht

Connacht coach Pat Lam says the ongoing talk of Robbie Henshaw leaving the Sportsground before the end of his current contract is not a distraction for the team, but that he feels the player has been hounded.

Henshaw is contracted to Connacht until the summer of 2016, but it has been widely rumoured that he is set to move to Leinster at the end of this season.

According to Lam, “nothing has changed” with Henshaw’s situation. He remains contracted to Connacht and while he admits he expects the speculation to continue, despite Henshaw’s insistence he will see out his contract, he says it’s no longer a problem for him.

‘Not an issue’

“No, no I’m over that. People are going to keep talking about that, but nothing has changed,” said Lam. “No, it’s not an issue at all. It’s an issue when people keep hounding Robbie. Robbie says he doesn’t want the distraction and people keep hounding him on it. But for us it’s business as usual. I just feel more for Robbie [than] the people that are trying to get at him by doing it.

“It’s not [a distraction] for us. I think it will continue because he is such a good player. But again, everything that we do has never been around what outside people are trying, it’s all about what we focus on.

There was positive news as Lam confirmed that second row Quinn Roux will see out the remainder of his Leinster contract on loan with Connacht.

Roux’s two-year contract extension with Leinster runs out at the end of this season, and according to Lam he has been impressed by the South African.

Ahead of Friday’s Pro12 clash with Edinburgh, Lam had some injuries and illnesses to deal with when the squad reassembled on Sunday following a three-day break.

Hooker Tom McCartney and lock Aly Muldowney were both sent home early from training because of stomach and chest illnesses respectively, while Craig Ronaldson, who sustained a knock to the head when scoring his try against Munster, will go through the required return to play protocols.

Lam also said he was hopeful that injured tight head Nathan White will be fit before the start of the Six Nations, while former New Zealand under-20 captain Jake Heenan is also making progress after being out all season.

“Nathan and Jake are not too far away. We’d be hopeful that it’d be the next few weeks.

“Nathan should be available, but that’s up to Joe (Schmidt), he’s going to be involved there. The key one for him is to get back playing for Connacht and hopefully he’s not too far away.”