Toner sings Henderson’s praises

Devin Toner has heaped praise upon his Ireland lock partner Iain Henderson, whom he has labelled as Ireland’s new ‘enforcer’ following his impressive performance in the dominant win over South Africa in Dublin on Saturday.

Ireland produced a clinical performance to earn a record victory over two-time world champions the Springboks, and Henderson announced himself as the home side’s new enforcer.

He proved to be a really hard-working lock in their engine room, and that he can be an uncompromising character who sets the tone with his physicality and presence.

On Saturday night, the Ulster lock was punishing South Africa’s forwards, including the globally-feared Eben Etzebeth.

“Hendy’s a special player, I’ve known him and played alongside him for a good few years now, and he’s just a special player,” said Toner told the Daily Mail. 

“He’s a monster in the gym and a monster on the pitch.

“He’s turned into the enforcer. It’s amazing, especially when you have someone who is a talisman like Etzebeth — he’s their captain, he’s renowned for being the physical man on the pitch.

“When you see Hendy stand up to him and get the better of him, it’s brilliant and gives your team a real gee-up.”

When asked about Ireland’s victory, head coach Joe Schmidt said: “You can only do what you can do and they did a really good job. I suppose if we’d really had to fight and get a two-point win, we’d be delighted as well.”