Iain Henderson: Ireland must cut defensive errors to snuff out Finn Russell threat

IAIN Henderson believes Ireland can snuff out the threat of Finn Russell if they cut out their defensive errors.

There were 24 missed tackles attributed to Ireland in their last game against Italy and that led to serious fissures in Ireland's rearguard, and it took a massive effort to contain the damage to two tries conceded.

Russell, Racing 92's mercurial out-half, will punish a similar display, warns Henderson, but the Ulster skipper says that the flipside of that is that a solid defensive effort will work in Ireland's favour in Murrayfield.

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"I think a lot of when Finn Russell manufactures incredible moments that Scotland live off, it's often down to a fault in defence or an issue there, and he's incredibly good at exploiting that," said Henderson.

"We need to ensure we iron out those faults, to not give him those soft shoulders to let the offload away or put the kick in.

"So it's focusing on our stuff and getting our stuff completely nailed on, be it the basics of our defence, communication - that sort of connection that hopefully shuts down a lot of those opportunities - and force him to try do stuff he might not necessarily be hugely comfortable doing."

Scotland's Finn Russell scores a penalty kick during the Six Nations match at BT Murrayfield against England last year (PA)

Henderson was restored to the starting line-up in Rome after Tadhg Beirne suffered a campaign-ending injury, and he will partner James Ryan in the second row again on Sunday.

The 31-year-old sees a difference in the Scots and a challenge that Ireland will have to meet head on, especially by the Ireland forwards.

"I feel their pack has been getting on the front foot quite a lot," Henderson assessed.

"With Finn Russell in there and their centres, I feel like they're getting wide-wide and then when they're going as wide as they are, defences are getting slightly more fractured and that's where you see someone who is as dangerous as Finn Russell, if he doesn't get the first thing he wants, he often finds something immediately after.

"We've seen clips of him getting kicks charged down, regathering and getting another perfect kick in, stepping back inside, finding a soft shoulder and throwing offloads.

"They're playing with a confidence that grows in them as the game goes on. They're playing an exciting brand of rugby - that will add to the atmosphere.

"They have a back three which are excited to get on the ball, they're all hunting to make those line breaks off Finn Russell, so that's obviously we have to be aware of and it's an exciting challenge for us and it's up to us how we manage that."

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