Ireland MUST be cautious of Wales despite poor Six Nations start, says legend Rob Henderson

LEGEND Rob Henderson says Ireland MUST respect Wales ahead of their huge Six Nations clash this weekend. The former international centre, who played alongside Brian O'Driscoll, also spoke about the mental battle of preparing for a British and Irish Lions tour during the Six Nations.

Henderson spent time with Leinster, Munster, Wasps and Toulon during his club career, and was capped 29 times by Ireland. Despite Ireland being favourites for the game this weekend, Henderson said: "Ireland must respect Wales by putting them away.". He spent the 2001 tour with the British and Irish Lions, and was capped three times.

Six Nations favourites Ireland will travel to the Principality to take on Wales during the Home Nations weekend of the 2025 Six Nations. The game is set to kick-off at 2.15pm GMT on Saturday, February 22. Wales have lost 14 games in a row, whereas Ireland have lost just once over the last two Six Nations tournaments.

Simon Easterby's side are heavy favourites, but Rob Henderson - who will be working with Vodafone this weekend - said: "In any sport, any day, any one can win. "Everyone expects Ireland to win and Wales are massive underdogs. "Ireland must respect Wales by putting them away.".

Ireland have started the Six Nations strongly and Henderson added: "Ireland have looked confident, they have won against England and at Murrayfield without getting out of third gear. "The Welsh know they are underdogs.". The former Munster player also added: "The underdog tag was a burden (when given to Ireland).

"We played France in 98, and the French press published the heaviest defeats in international history they were that confident. "With the mental strength of players nowadays, they are more capable of dealing with the tag.". Ahead of the Wales game, and all tournament, Easterby has had a selection headache at fly-half, with Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast both staking their claim to start at 10 for Ireland.

But Henderson thinks "it's a great situation" for the team to be in. "Every team needs two class 10s," he said. "Having two horses going for the lead only spur each other on.". Henderson said Leinster fly-half Sam Prendergast had "a nervy start against England, but played extremely well at Murrayfield.".

The former Lions centre spent most of a long period at Munster, where Jack Crowley currently plays. Henderson, however, insisted he was "sitting on the fence" on who he would pick as Ireland's starting 10. Prendergast had drawn comparisons to the legendary Johnny Sexton following his performance in Scotland, but Henderson said: "There will only ever be one Johnny Sexton.

"And (there will only ever be) one Sam Prendgergast, even though they might have similar ways to play the game. "Go back to Johnny Sexton after six caps and see what he was like, and make a fair comparison. "Give Sam Prendergast a chance and see where he ends up.".

Former Wasps man Henderson was asked if he thought enough was being done about financial stability in rugby, to which he replied: "Clearly not. "Wasps gone, London Irish gone, Worcester gone, I think if you look at the footfall of the game and the way its changing financially, it's tough.

"If grassroots clubs collapse without the support of the union... you need to have that foundation first.". The 52-year-old spent time in England with Wasps, and added: "If you don't have 10,000 going through the gates every week then you will be in trouble.

"It needs to be a viable product. "Look at [Harlequins], they are doing extremely well with an owner with a football background. "There is salary caps in place, is it an option dropping salary down on players? Potentially. "[Rugby union] needs to sort finances out if they want longevity," added Henderson.

With the British & Irish Lions are touring Australia this summer, Henderson saying the "Australian tour is especially special. "There is no higher accolade than playing for the Lions.". When asked if the Lions tour is extra motivation during the Six Nations, Henderson said: "If you try too hard, nine times out of ten you will let yourself down and try things you shouldn't do.

"Push it to the back of your mind and try to do your job well. "Consider the match ahead instead of considering the Lions. Henderson went on the British & Irish Lions tour in 2001, but jokingly said the biggest accomplishment of his career was "playing Jimmy White at Snooker.

"I was 7-0 up, and he beat me 114-7," said Henderson. Rugby legends Ryan Jones and Rob Henderson are set to host a social media watch-along live during the Wales vs Ireland Guinness Six Nations match. This will be at the Principality Stadium, enabled by network slicing on Vodafone’s 5G Standalone (5G SA) network.

In what is a UK first, the Instagram livestream hosted on Ryan Jones’ account will showcase the power of network slicing in a stadium environment. The technology on show is part of a Vodafone trial to demonstrate the use of multiple 5G SA network slices being used concurrently for different purposes during a live event.