LEO CULLEN SAID that injuries prevented some Leinster players from backing up for this Saturday’s URC quarter-final against the Lions following last weekend’s Champions Cup final loss to Bordeaux.

Garry Ringrose and Rónan Kelleher are among those who weren’t fit to be named to face the Lions, although Ciarán Frawley was not one of them

Frawley, who will join Connacht this summer, had a bright impact off the bench for Leinster in the second half against Bordeaux but won’t be involved this weekend.

“There’s a few guys unavailable, unfortunately,” said Cullen today. “So Garry picked up a niggle. He trained on Tuesday, but then you’re trying to make assessments on guys, because whatever about getting guys out to train, there’s always guys picking up bangs.

“Rónan Kelleher is another one, had an issue with his neck, and a few guys just carrying knocks, and that’s the bit when you’re trying to get freshness into the group as well for a knockout game that you have to win.

“So we’re trying not to take anything for granted here, so making sure, crystal clear, because this was always going to be a very difficult selection for us coming off the back of if we’d won the game, and you’ve got guys with bangs and knocks, if you’d lost the game.

“Paddy [McCarthy] obviously is the one that was in the media, he’s out the rest of the season, unfortunately, after coming back in after being out for a while, so that’s not what you want to see. That’s sometimes what happens in this game as well.

“So, yeah, it’s a little bit of case by case there, but there’s guys, yes, that I think people would normally expect to see in the 23, they’re not there because they’re carrying bangs and knocks.”

Asked specifically whether Frawley was one of those guys, Cullen said he wasn’t.

“He was OK,” said Cullen.

“It’s similar to other guys, we’re trying to make good choices for the group here.”

Sam Prendergast comes into the team at out-half, with Harry Byrne dropping to the bench as Frawley misses out on the matchday 23 to take on the Lions at the Aviva Stadium.

Ciarán Frawley during the Champions Cup final. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

“Sam, as you know, he’s a super-talented young man,” said Cullen. “And we want to keep giving the guy opportunities. I think you’ve seen it.

“Even though he’s 23 years of age, he has multiple Irish caps under his belt already. So it’s not just us as coaches here who think that the guy has an unbelievable amount of potential. It’s the Irish coaches as well. We all want to see him progress, so we need to keep giving him these opportunities. 

“He’s played in lots of big games over the last couple of seasons, and we just want to see all our young players, and some days go great, some days there’s always things to work on, isn’t there?

“We all need to get behind Sam because we see him as a huge part of the future of not just Leinster, but Irish rugby as well. And I think everyone heard Andy Farrell speak during the Six Nations when Sam and Jack [Crowley] were fighting it out for the starting role there, it’s making sure that we continue to back our young players to bring them through because you’re trying to perform at the top level of the game.

“Sam has had a good training week this week. The fresh energy and eyes has been important for us as a team.

“Harry’s been very good over the course of this campaign as well,” added Cullen. “We think we’ve got a strong group across the board. Some guys drop out, a few guys, as I said, bangs and knocks.

“Tommy O’Brien drops out, Gary Ringrose drops out, Rónan Kelleher drops out. Jack Conan, another one as well.

“And then we tried to freshen things up by putting a few guys on the bench. Hopefully, they will give that level of required experience later in the game as well. Hopefully, we can get this job done.”