GUINNESS PRO12 Star: Robbie Henshaw

Brian O'Driscoll's Ireland retirement this year left arguably the biggest hole of a generation, the iconic outside centre vacating a shirt he had worn to great effect for 15 years.

But the man himself believes Connacht's fresh faced No.13 could be the right fit to step into the fold.

"I have a lot of time for Robbie Henshaw," O'Driscoll told the Irish Times.

"Defensively, he's come on leaps and bounds in the past 18 months and really understands the position a lot more. And he's an unbelievably nice fella. And he's a huge man."

Henshaw is a relatively new face on the block, now in his third season with GUINNESS PRO12 side Connacht - and last year was something of a breakout campaign.

He switched with ease between the centres and full-back, starting 17 league games as Pat Lam's side laid the foundations for this season's flying start.

Henshaw will be missed for the next month after linking up with Joe Schmidt's Ireland squad but Lam may have to get used to the sight of him disappearing to represent the men in green.

Follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12