Iain Henderson believes Ireland's progress under Andy Farrell is based on the trust he has built with his players - and reveals one personal example why that is the case.
The Ulster skipper reckons that his decision to miss Ireland's 2020 Six Nations clash with England following the birth of his baby boy Freddie would have been costly for his career under a lot of coaches.
Ireland were going for a Triple Crown in Twickenham that February week, and Henderson had started in both wins against Scotland and Wales.
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However he wasn't fearful that there would be consequences when he told Farrell he was staying with his family.
"Freddie was born on the Wednesday or Thursday and Faz left it fully up to me if I wanted to play in that match," recalled Henderson.
"I didn’t end up playing that weekend. A lot of coaches could have easily said: ‘No, we want you to come across and play'.
"Faz said, 'you do what’s right for you'.
"My wife was getting out of hospital the day we (Ireland) were supposed to be flying and I said to him, 'Look, as long as Suzanne is still in hospital I didn’t want to leave'.
"He said, '100%, you do whatever suits you' and I said to him, "Look, I’m not going to travel – I want to stay with Suzanne and young Freddie'.
"He said, 'That’s perfect Hendy, if that’s what you need to do for your family that’s what you need to do'.
"That’s only one small example for me.
"Stuff happens in here on a weekly basis – if something happens in someone’s family life or something happens in rugby, all over the team environment Faz is incredibly on top of making sure that the right thing is being done for everyone."
Henderson, 30, is certain that the conversation would have gone another way with different bosses.
"There are lots of coaches I’ve been under and it might have had a career cost," he said. "But with Faz I felt comfortable enough to say I don’t want to travel.
"As much as I wanted to play for Ireland against England, for me and my family at the time I felt it was the right call for me to stay at home.
"Faz was fully on board with it. He made me feel comfortable that it was the right decision for me.
"In my head that’s what I wanted to do, but with other coaches I don’t necessarily know if that would have flown the same way for them.
"Faz is massive in understanding how you feel about your personal life, your family life, how you’re playing.
"And he’s huge on ensuring everyone is where they want to be and doing what they want to do, and as long as that’s the case it’s an environment that – you can ask any player – you want to be involved in."
Henderson is set to come into the side in Rome next Saturday for second row Tadhg Beirne, who underwent ankle surgery on Thursday and is out for the remainder of the Six Nations.
"Look, it’s gutting and I was genuinely devastated after the game when he told me he’d got it x-rayed and it wasn’t looking good," said Henderson.
"I really felt for him because he’s a big part of what we do as a forward pack and how we prep for each game."
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