WHILE HE REVEALED the province attempted to keep him within their ranks, Leo Cullen has acknowledged he understands why Ciaran Frawley made the decision to depart Leinster at the end of the current season.

A week after it was first reported a move out west was in the pipeline, it was confirmed yesterday morning that Frawley will be joining interprovincial rivals Connacht from next season onwards on a two-year deal. This switch will see the Skerries native reuniting with Stuart Lancaster, who spent seven years as a senior coach at Leinster from 2016 to 2023 and is currently in his first season at the helm of Connacht.

There will be other familiar faces to Frawley at the western province with eight of their present senior squad having previously appeared for Leinster at senior level. A number of former Blues hopefuls are also part of the set-ups in Munster and Ulster, but Cullen insisted it isn’t a source of frustration on his part to see some of those who have come through the Leinster system moving elsewhere in Ireland.

“We tried to keep Ciarán here, but he’s made a decision. It’s the professional world we’re in. Ciarán’s been a great part of the group here. We understand his reasons. Decisions get made and we move on. Frustration’s not the right word, is it? I think there’s a great opportunity for our guys to play professionally,” the Leinster head coach remarked at a media briefing in UCD on Monday.

“If it’s not here, it’s somewhere else. The other provinces, they take our guys on board, which is great. From a Leinster point of view, there’s no downside to that, is there? It’s not like we go ‘keep 100 players’.

“We have 45 senior players and we have 20, 22 academy players. So there’s no year that the numbers change drastically. You’re talking one, two or three either way. Either side of that. So we don’t actually have any more space in the building.”

Although only time will tell if it turns out this way, it has been suggested a move to Connacht will see Frawley being offered a chance to receive regular game time at out-half. While he has donned the number 10 jersey on a number of occasions for Leinster across 112 appearances to date, his versatility has also seen him lining out at inside centre and full-back on a regular basis.

Concentrating on one specific position could help to aid his international prospects, which currently appear uncertain after he failed to feature in any of the four games Ireland played during the recent November window. Cullen – who confirmed Frawley will be in the mix to face his future employers in the United Rugby Championship at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday – believes this is a major factor behind his decision to make an impending move to Connacht.

“Let’s call a spade a spade. He’s been away in November. I think he sees in terms of what the national coaches want. Does he want to nail down playing 10? I think he’s going to get that opportunity at Connacht. Does that play out? Listen, it is what it is. We love Frawls. We think he’s a great person, first and foremost,” Cullen added.

“He’s been a great player for us, been involved in lots of positive moments over the years. We wish him well as well. He talked to the group here this morning [Monday]. He explained it in his own words. So, I’d rather him explaining it in his words to you guys at some point down the track. We shake hands and move on.

“Between now and the end of the season, everyone’s focused on delivering for Leinster. Next season is next season. This season is this season. We’re all sort of in the here and the now at the moment.

“We’re five games down of the ten games of this period. We need all hands on deck really at the moment. Because there’s lots of things going on, players being managed. Every team has the same sort of thing going on. Maybe they don’t have the same amount of players that need to be managed that we do.”