And while him doing so has added greater strength in depth to the boys in green, it has done little to diminish Schmidt’s enduring selection headache.

Kleyn’s Guinness PRO14 record is an impressive one, playing 1169 minutes for Munster last season and making 198 tackles in the process – one every 5.9 minutes.

The South African-born lock, however, had reduced influence in other areas of the game, winning just three turnovers and failing to secure an opposition line-out.

Henderson, by contrast, completed just 662 minutes for Ulster last term but still made 92 tackles, at an inferior rate of one every 6.9 minutes.

The 27-year-old also boasts a superior record elsewhere, winning six turnovers – double the number of Kleyn in around half of his minutes – and two line-outs.

Henderson also has considerable Test match experience under his belt, winning 48 caps for Ireland since his debut against South Africa in 2012, while Schmidt was also reluctant to heap praise on Kleyn’s performance against Wales by describing it as “solid if not spectacular”.

With Ireland’s World Cup bow fast approaching, it looks to be Henderson who is winning the battle.

SCOTLAND’S SELECTION SKIRMISH

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has a similar selection dilemma heading into Japan, this time among his backs.

It’s on the wing where Townsend must move and make a swift decision, choosing between Glasgow Warriors’ Tommy Seymour or Edinburgh’s Darcy Graham.