Iain Henderson: 'This is where we wanted to be'

There have been plenty of frustrating moments for Iain Henderson this season, but the Ulster captain isn't hoping to see the back of this campaign anytime soon.

The second row had to wait until the end of November to get back out onto the pitch after thumb surgery in the summer, his return coinciding with Ulster's mid-season dip in form.

But after getting steady game time under his belt during the winter, he has found himself back in the thick of a Six Nations campaign with Ireland, and looking to take another step towards what would be a fourth title success with Ireland.

"This is where we wanted to be, where we planned and how we wanted our championship to go, so this is the fourth step of our plan," the 31-year-old says ahead of this Sunday's meeting with Scotland at Murrayfield (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).

"That's how we're approaching this game. Obviously, with the way the table's standing, Scotland are a huge challenge for us and we have to be wary of that and have been wary of it in our analysis this week."

The last 18 months have been peppered with injury setbacks for Henderson, who missed out on the Test series win against New Zealand last summer due to a knee injury, and used that time on the sidelines to also get some running repairs to a long-running thumb issue.

Having initially hoped to be back by October, the two-time British and Irish Lion saw his return delayed, sitting out of the Autumn Nations Series wins against South Africa, Fiji and Australia in November, although he did train with Ireland's extended squad during that time.

And he says it was an anxious time waiting for the final clearance to play.

"The late start was probably more frustrating for me, as it was kind of enforced management rather than an