WHILE THERE WAS a headline-grabbing clash between the two provinces at Croke Park later on the same day, last Saturday afternoon saw Charlie Tector featuring in a very different Leinster versus Munster game.

Lining out at inside centre alongside fellow Wexford native Connor Fahy, Tector was part of a blues side that took on their arch rivals at Old Belvedere RFC in the opening round of the Men’s ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship. Seemingly set for a commanding victory when Joshua Kenny’s converted try helped them establish a 26-0 cushion early in the second half, Leinster ultimately had to settle for a share of the spoils when Munster dramatically matched their tally inside the final-quarter in Ballsbridge.

Although disappointed not to come away with a win, Tector was glad to get some game time in this fixture after missing out on selection for the opening four rounds of the new United Rugby Championship season with Leinster’s first team.

:It was a good game. We probably had a good performance for 60 minutes. It was 26-0 and then Munster got a bit of momentum. With our own indiscipline, we sort of found ourselves looking at Tony Butler taking a conversion [which he missed] to beat us at 26-all with 80 minutes on the clock. It was a quick turnaround,” Tector remarked at a Leinster media briefing earlier this week.

“It’s great to get minutes. We didn’t have much prep because obviously we’re the non-23 and we’re prepping the Croke Park team. So we’re Munster for the week and then we sort of have our own little walk through on Friday. Went out on Saturday and played the ‘A’ game.

“So it’s kind of just a last-minute thrown together, but we had a good group. We were happy with our performance for 60 minutes, but we didn’t really finish off the job.”

Although Tector still faces stiff competition at inside centre in the Leinster set-up, a switch to this position within the past 12 months or so has proven to be beneficial. A regular starter at out-half when the Ireland U20s won a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2022, the former Kilkenny College student might well have found that opportunities were limited if he remained as an out-and-out number 10 at the beginning of last season.

Tector started six games at inside centre last season. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

This is due to the fact that the likes of Sam Prendergast, Ross Byrne, his younger brother Harry (before his subsequent loan move to Bristol Bears) and Ciaran Frawley were all out-half options for Leo Cullen heading into the 2024-25 campaign.

However, it was around this period that both Tector’s agent James Downey (the former Leinster, Connacht and Munster player) and current Leinster Academy coach and elite player development officer Kieran Hallett suggested a switch to inside centre might increase his chances of seeing more game time.

This move certainly offered the Slaneysider a new lease of life as he proceeded to start six times in the number 12 jersey over the course of a successful URC season for Leinster and helped himself to tries in victories against Edinburgh, Ospreys and Cardiff. He also had one start at outside centre against Connacht on 21 December of last year at the Aviva Stadium and crossed the whitewash in a 20-12 triumph.

“There was a lot of 10s in the building. I think it was pre-season last year, Downey and Kieran Hallett actually here, the Academy coach. He [Hallett] was sort of like ‘look, you’ll be thriving at 12, you’ve been thriving at 12 in training’. It’s just getting reps in, different scope.

“You’re looking through the lens at 10, one channel in. Now you’re 12, but you’re still the ears and the eyes of the 10. I really enjoyed feeding the comms into the 10 and talking to forwards out of the back of shapes is very similar.

I think the decision to move to 12 was right. Obviously I can still cover 10 and 13 as well. I’m keeping my options open at the minute.”

Now that a large chunk of the squad are part of the Ireland camp for the upcoming November internationals, Tector is set to make his first appearance for the Leinster senior side when they face Zebre Parma in the URC at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (KO 5.30pm).

He will be looking to make the most of this latest opportunity and with last weekend’s defeat to Munster in Croke Park leaving them 12th in the URC standings, Tector admitted it is vital Leinster return to winning ways.

“Every point counts now at this stage for us. A tough start to the season, but we focus on the here and now and look forward to the next game,” Tector added.