Ulster captain Iain Henderson ‘delighted’ with new deal

Ulster captain Iain Henderson has committed his future to Ulster and Ireland by signing a two-year contract extension with the IRFU that will keep him at Kingspan Stadium until July 2023.
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Playing his club rugby at Queen’s, Henderson made his Ulster debut away to Connacht in April 2012.

He made his Ireland debut seven months later coming off the bench against South Africa and was part of the Six Nations winning side in 2014.

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Henderson was an integral part of Joe Schmidt’s team that won the Grand Slam in 2018 and the year before, he made six appearances for the British Lions on their tour of New Zealand.

Ulster captain Iain Henderson has signed a two-year contract extension.Ulster captain Iain Henderson has signed a two-year contract extension.
Ulster captain Iain Henderson has signed a two-year contract extension.

He was made captain of Ulster at the start of the 2020 season and skippered Ireland for the first time against France in last week’s game in Dublin.

The 29-year-old lock was is delighted to pen the new deal especially as the Covid-19 pandemic had delayed contract discussions.

“A week or so ago I was able to check that off my list and I’m delighted to finally announce that I’m back on for another two years,” enthused Henderson.

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“I’m looking forward to it and everything that might entail whether here or back up at home. The initial period was probably more stressful, the contract negotiations were later than we would have initially anticipated and where they would have been in a usual year.

“That was something that anyone in any profession would find stressful, pushing out their security going forward,” he added.

“When they got underway the discussions we had with my agent, with David Nucifora and other members of his team, they weren’t painful at all they were understanding and from both sides of the table we knew where we had to get to.

“It didn’t take anywhere near as long as I thought it would.”

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Despite losing 15-13 to France in his debut as captain Henderson wouldn’t hesitate in skippering his country again.

“I’d love to do it again - really enjoyed it though the result wasn’t what we’d have wanted but I enjoyed the build-up to it,” he said.

“This team has leaders the whole way through it and that made it feel more seamless and easy for me to step into that role.”

Henderson sought out as much advice as he could about leading the side before facing France at the Aviva Stadium.

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“I had a good chat with my family, I chatted with Johnny (Sexton) and Paulie (O’Connell) and a good chat with Rory Best.

“I’m naming three captains there who I’ve been captained by and they have always set an incredibly good example from any team they’ve ever captained.

“So, as I said when moving into the Ulster captaincy, I didn’t want to move into the exact shoes of one of them but wanted to try and get a feel and do it slightly differently and my own way, which I felt I tried to do, but it was an enjoyable experience (against France) nevertheless.”

It has been a different Six Nations due to sides being confined to bubbles but Henderson feels everyone is looking out for each other.

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“Making sure anyone with external stresses be it contract, be it family or anything else, you’re always mindful of your team-mates and making sure you have that extra eye outside of the rugby circle, because ultimately that will impact their performance.

“Being able to spot guys when they’re not themselves, that’s key, Andy Farrell’s great at that and so is the whole group as well.”

Ulster will play in the European Challenge Cup for the first time in their history after the EPCR announced revised tournament formats to complete the 2020/21 season.

A draw will take place on Tuesday, March 9 with games taking place on the first weekend in April.

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Ulster can’t draw a Pro14 side in the last 16 and will face one team from London Irish, Leicester Tigers, Club, Agen, Newcastle Falcons, Northampton Saints, Bath Rugby, Montpellier or Harlequins.

The Heineken Champions Cup was suspended after the first two rounds of matches due to fears of teams travelling in January because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ulster lost both games in the Champions Cup and sat ninth in Pool 2.

The top eight from both pools go into the Champions Cup while the bottom four in each pool go into the Challenge Cup, along with the top-ranked eight clubs from the opening two rounds of the competition.

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