Robbie Henshaw: Leinster have a point to prove against Ulster

Robbie Henshaw said Leinster have a point to prove when they travel to Ulster in the BKT United Rugby Championship on Friday, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.

Leinster lost home and away to Ulster last season and the northern province have started the season in impressive form, scoring 12 tries in victories over Connacht and Scarlets to sit level on points with Leinster at the top of the standings.

Henshaw was wearing Connacht colours when he last played at Kingspan Stadium but he started last November's meeting at the RDS, scoring Leinster’s sole try in a 20-10 defeat.

When asked about their rivalry with Ulster, Henshaw told RTÉ Sport: "It’s massive. It's been a while since I've played up in Kingspan, it’s real exciting times for us.

"We know what Ulster are going to bring. Looking back to last year they beat us twice, in the RDS and up there. We’ll have a point to prove going up this weekend but we’re under no illusions. It’s going to be a very tough game.

"They're playing great rugby at the moment. We're really looking forward to the challenge but it's going to be a tight one."

Henshaw’s midfield battle with Stuart McCloskey is one of a number of big match-ups in Belfast. The Ulster centre has started the season in impressive form and with Bundee Aki staring at a lengthy suspension, he could force his way into Ireland contention for the November Tests.

"Stu is a great player, he is a real talisman for Ulster," said Henshaw.

"He gets some go-forward ball but he's built in a nice range of passing and distribution skills over the last few years. They definitely use him a lot as their go-to man so that’ll probably be in our plans as well.

"We'd have to look at shutting him down to stop their momentum, but look across their backline -