THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS
Henderson central to plan
IAIN MORRISON
THE famous Hollywood producer Sam Goldwyn once demanded of a poor director: "What we want is a story that starts with an earthquake and works its way up to a climax!"

That, in a sentence, is Frank Hadden's problem. Scotland started the campaign with an earthquake when they beat the ante-post favourites France but after producing the grand finale in the first act of the Six Nations any ensuing drama will almost certainly fail to match those opening 80 minutes.


England's superstars are next up, appearing under the Murrayfield floodlights on Saturday evening and they bring with them the only unbeaten record of the championship. They may not be winning many awards for artistic interpretation but they are winning and, after last season's disappointments, coach Andy Robinson will be grateful for that.

Hadden's squad is at least one year behind the English one in terms of development, not least because of the last two wasted years, and a quick glance at the two team lists confirms as much.

Just 11 months on from their last meeting in March 2005, the bulk of the English side is unchanged, whereas the Scots will probably take to the field with six or seven personnel changes and three positional ones.

Hadden has some serious head scratching to do between now and the announcement of his starting XV on Tuesday. The coach will probably make a sacrificial offering, in this case Scott MacLeod, to rush Nathan Hines into the starting XV because pure physics backs up the old saying about a good big 'un beating a good little 'un. The Australian's bulk will come in handy against England's relentless driving maul and if Hines doesn't start there is a danger that the match will be over before he makes an appearance.

Gordon Ross looked full of running during his brief appearance in Cardiff but Dan Parks' kicking game is likely to swing the balance his way at stand-off and, on the basis that attack is the best form of defence, Mike Blair will probably keep his starting spot in the No.9 jersey over Chris Cusiter.

But one position that Hadden won't waste too much time deliberating is his choice of inside centre. Andy Henderson was dropped last year and ended up playing just five minutes of Six Nations rugby by his reckoning, coming off the bench against Wales and England. His rehabilitation under the new management team has seen him start every match Hadden has selected.

Eleven months ago, when these two teams last met, Matt Williams fielded an odd couple centre pairing of Hugo Southwell and Andy Craig and the result was seven tries for England including a hat-trick for the previously unheralded centre Jamie Noon. Henderson is expecting a severe test next weekend, arguing that both English centres bring more than hard, straight running.

"Just looking at the little bits of England I've seen, Noon set up one try with a neat offload (against Wales). They are both guys who can offload in the tackle and both have a physical presence. I suppose they are different players from people like Will Greenwood but I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

"I think they both run really good lines, there is subtlety in what they do although it looks more direct. I think the subtlety comes before they get the ball when they try to take you away somewhere (out of position) and then come back or maybe break up your defensive line a wee bit to hit a hole between you. I think that they are really tough to defend against."

Henderson says all this in a voice that rarely rises above a whisper and had the assembled journalists edging ever closer with their microphones edging razor-close to his chin in an attempt to record his sotto voce. But the quiet voice off the field masks a quiet confidence on it where the centre undergoes the sort of transformation that had Clark Kent flaunting his Calvin Kleins outside his trousers.

The moment he steps on to the pitch Henderson mutates from a slightly awkward, gawky-looking character in civilian clothes into a whirling dervish of knees, elbows, attitude and aggression. Just as most people would look hopelessly out of place in the middle of a professional rugby match so the Scottish centre looks slightly ill at ease almost anywhere else.

Ben MacDougall credited him with talking the debutant through last weekend's match at the Millennium Stadium and when people say that Henderson does his talking on the field they mean it in a very literal sense. Once the whistle blows the quiet man of Scottish rugby becomes a barking sergeant major who couldn't be any more assertive if he used a loudhailer.

"Coaches encourage you to communicate," he explains. "It's drilled into you. It is easier to shout at people on the pitch than it is to be noisy off it when you are naturally quite a quiet character. I don't think too much about it, I'm not really conscious of it."

Just like the English duo he faces, Henderson has always run good lines, too, but in recent months Lenzie Academy's finest has added to his traditional repertoire. He now has much better footwork, an extra yard of pace and thanks to his upper body strength he brings the priceless ability to offload in heavy traffic that is vital to the continuity game that Hadden preaches.

"The way we are playing you have more confidence to try a pass," he reasons, "whereas in the past you might have tucked the ball under your arm and gone to ground before recycling it. It's something we are very aware of, keeping the ball alive. Obviously it's a matter of deciding when it's one and when it's not.

"The confidence doesn't just come from Frank but also knowing the guys around you, getting to understand how they play and having confidence in their support lines. If someone takes the ball up the rest of us are following, almost expecting the offload and if not then going in to win the contact." Henderson has always been a big man in a physical sense but he has recently grown in stature, too.

An integral part of the Scotland squad, at the age of 26 he seems to have moved from promising youngster to ageing veteran in the blink of an eye, bypassing any middle stage, although anyone involved in the Scotland squad these last couple of years is sure to have aged more than most.

Back in 2000 when Scotland last won the Calcutta Cup, he was in the crowd cheering on the full team having turned out for the under-21 side the day before, possibly against Noon although he cannot be sure.

He has just one win against Scotland's oldest enemy to boast about, were he the boasting type, a students' match. The bookmakers suggest another loss next week, the sixth in succession to England, and the centre agrees that Martin Corry et al will provide a formidable obstacle.

"England don't have too many weak points," he replies when asked where a chink in their armour might be found. "They are very big and physical and they can dominate sides that way. It's just a matter of us trying to play to our strengths, keep the ball alive, play at our own pace and compete as best we can on the physical side of things. Do the things we can do well."

Murrayfield's fans have rediscovered their voice so anything is possible next weekend but forewarned is forearmed and if England were ever tempted to take this match lightly they won't make that mistake now.

Lightning has occasionally been known to strike twice but earthquakes are rarer animals.

This article was posted on 19-Feb-2006, 10:10 by Hugh Barrow.