AMONG LEO CULLEN’s interesting post-match comments at Thomond Park were several mentions of “Leinster guys” playing for the other Irish provinces.
“Is there more Leinster than Limerick guys?” he asked Simon Zebo of the Munster team when they were chatting on Premier Sports after Leinster’s win.
Of course, Cullen knew the answer. There was one Limerick man in the Munster matchday 23, which also included seven players who either came through the Leinster pathway or played for the eastern province’s professional team.
The three captains of Munster, Ulster, and Connacht last weekend – Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney, and Cian Prendergast – are Leinster natives, with Beirne starting his professional career there.
Connacht’s matchday squad against Ulster on Saturday evening included eight players who were in the Leinster pathway at one stage or played senior rugby for them, while Ulster’s 23 featured four men who Cullen might include in his ‘Leinster guys’ bracket.
Leinster’s squad included hooker John McKee, who came through the Ulster pathway, Connacht man Robbie Henshaw, and Mayo native Caelan Doris, who moved into the Leinster pipeline when he went to boarding school in Blackrock College.
But as we already knew, Leinster’s teams and squads are usually dominated by players who have come through the province’s own pathway. And the fact that the other provinces sign players who initially come through in Leinster is nothing unusual.
Cullen wasn’t breaking any shock news when he referred to ‘Leinster guys’ playing elsewhere, but it was clear he wanted to make a bit of a point about it.
Not that he was willing to explicitly spell that point out when asked to expand on his feelings about it in the press conference that followed his TV interview, which had included further mentions of “Leinster guys” in Connacht and Munster.
“Big Dave Fagan, who was down at the centre of excellence in Donnybrook, his remit is producing players to play professionally,” said Cullen. “Ideally, they’re playing for Leinster, but he also wants to set them on their journey to professional careers.
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“Poor old Dave is no longer with us, but in terms of that as a remit… seeing Mike Ala’alatoa there today, he’s such a brilliant guy. To see him back in Ireland, he’s happy, but he’s just one example. We’ve had some great characters.
“To see them plying their trade somewhere else is great. So long as they don’t come back to haunt us!”
Leinster boss Leo Cullen. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
It was a diplomatic answer and it’s hard not to suspect that Cullen has more extensive thoughts on the matter.
We must also consider the current context for his comments. Ciarán Frawley has decided to join Connacht next season and his move is different to most Leinster exits.
Frawley could have stayed in Leinster next season. He had that option but decided to leave. In the vast majority of previous cases, the players leaving Leinster didn’t have such a choice.
Take Connacht skipper and Ireland international Prendergast as an example. He was told there was no space for him in Leinster’s academy and got a call from Connacht two days later asking if he’d join theirs instead.
The same thing happened with Ireland international Timoney when he joined Ulster. Beirne made it through the Leinster academy into their senior squad, but he was then essentially released twice before launching his top-level career with Scarlets in Wales.
Go through all of the other Leinster natives or ex-Leinster players who are now dotted around the other provinces and the back stories are similar. They were deemed surplus to requirements amid the intense competition for places in Leinster and found their opportunities elsewhere.
That has to be seen as a good thing for Irish rugby, even if it shouldn’t mask what have been or remain deficiencies in the player pipelines elsewhere.
Maybe Cullen was having a dig at the other provinces for shortcomings in that regard, or maybe Frawley’s decision to leave Leinster irked him. Perhaps he wasn’t irked at all and just fancied having a bit of craic. It certainly made for good TV and good copy.
Interestingly, these moves are beginning to happen at younger ages, and this is where things may now be changing in Irish rugby and for Leinster.
19-year-old wing Daniel Ryan started for Connacht in their URC defeat to Ulster on Saturday. He was a standout player in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup for St Michael’s College in Dublin earlier this year and is part of the Ireland U20s squad this season.
19-year-old Daniel Ryan made his Connacht debut last weekend. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Leinster don’t tend to take players into their full academy straight out of school but in the past, most youngsters have been happy to spend a season or more in the Leinster sub-academy to prove themselves worthy of a full academy spot.
That may become less common now if the likes of Connacht are active in luring promising young players away from Leinster. Ryan was one of five players from the Leinster pathway who joined Connacht’s academy at the start of this season.
This is a space well worth watching in the coming years.
For now, Frawley looks like a cracking signing for Connacht. Despite being 28, he simply hasn’t had a long run of games at out-half for Leinster. He has been honest about number 10 being his favoured position, so it will be fascinating to see how it goes for him out west. Interestingly, Frawley didn’t get ahead as an out-half when Stuart Lancaster was at Leinster, although there was obviously stiff competition.
As he underlined again last weekend at fullback for Leinster against Munster, Frawley is a powerful, athletic specimen, while his playmaking from number 12 has been impressive this season again too.
We know he has mental fortitude on the highest stage, thanks to his two remarkable late drop goals to send Ireland to their second-ever Test victory over the Springboks in South Africa in 2024.
Frawley isn’t first-choice in any position at Leinster. While they are the best team in the country and Connacht are obviously struggling at the moment, he has decided to go now. He is clearly backing himself to prove his class at out-half, a position which has yet to be nailed down for Ireland since Johnny Sexton’s retirement.
Cullen and Leinster will be hoping Frawley doesn’t come back to haunt them in the future.
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Frawley a cracking signing for Connacht and it's a different Leinster exit
AMONG LEO CULLEN’s interesting post-match comments at Thomond Park were several mentions of “Leinster guys” playing for the other Irish provinces.
“Is there more Leinster than Limerick guys?” he asked Simon Zebo of the Munster team when they were chatting on Premier Sports after Leinster’s win.
Of course, Cullen knew the answer. There was one Limerick man in the Munster matchday 23, which also included seven players who either came through the Leinster pathway or played for the eastern province’s professional team.
The three captains of Munster, Ulster, and Connacht last weekend – Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney, and Cian Prendergast – are Leinster natives, with Beirne starting his professional career there.
Connacht’s matchday squad against Ulster on Saturday evening included eight players who were in the Leinster pathway at one stage or played senior rugby for them, while Ulster’s 23 featured four men who Cullen might include in his ‘Leinster guys’ bracket.
Leinster’s squad included hooker John McKee, who came through the Ulster pathway, Connacht man Robbie Henshaw, and Mayo native Caelan Doris, who moved into the Leinster pipeline when he went to boarding school in Blackrock College.
But as we already knew, Leinster’s teams and squads are usually dominated by players who have come through the province’s own pathway. And the fact that the other provinces sign players who initially come through in Leinster is nothing unusual.
Cullen wasn’t breaking any shock news when he referred to ‘Leinster guys’ playing elsewhere, but it was clear he wanted to make a bit of a point about it.
Not that he was willing to explicitly spell that point out when asked to expand on his feelings about it in the press conference that followed his TV interview, which had included further mentions of “Leinster guys” in Connacht and Munster.
“Big Dave Fagan, who was down at the centre of excellence in Donnybrook, his remit is producing players to play professionally,” said Cullen. “Ideally, they’re playing for Leinster, but he also wants to set them on their journey to professional careers.
“Poor old Dave is no longer with us, but in terms of that as a remit… seeing Mike Ala’alatoa there today, he’s such a brilliant guy. To see him back in Ireland, he’s happy, but he’s just one example. We’ve had some great characters.
“To see them plying their trade somewhere else is great. So long as they don’t come back to haunt us!”
It was a diplomatic answer and it’s hard not to suspect that Cullen has more extensive thoughts on the matter.
We must also consider the current context for his comments. Ciarán Frawley has decided to join Connacht next season and his move is different to most Leinster exits.
Frawley could have stayed in Leinster next season. He had that option but decided to leave. In the vast majority of previous cases, the players leaving Leinster didn’t have such a choice.
Take Connacht skipper and Ireland international Prendergast as an example. He was told there was no space for him in Leinster’s academy and got a call from Connacht two days later asking if he’d join theirs instead.
The same thing happened with Ireland international Timoney when he joined Ulster. Beirne made it through the Leinster academy into their senior squad, but he was then essentially released twice before launching his top-level career with Scarlets in Wales.
Go through all of the other Leinster natives or ex-Leinster players who are now dotted around the other provinces and the back stories are similar. They were deemed surplus to requirements amid the intense competition for places in Leinster and found their opportunities elsewhere.
That has to be seen as a good thing for Irish rugby, even if it shouldn’t mask what have been or remain deficiencies in the player pipelines elsewhere.
Maybe Cullen was having a dig at the other provinces for shortcomings in that regard, or maybe Frawley’s decision to leave Leinster irked him. Perhaps he wasn’t irked at all and just fancied having a bit of craic. It certainly made for good TV and good copy.
Interestingly, these moves are beginning to happen at younger ages, and this is where things may now be changing in Irish rugby and for Leinster.
19-year-old wing Daniel Ryan started for Connacht in their URC defeat to Ulster on Saturday. He was a standout player in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup for St Michael’s College in Dublin earlier this year and is part of the Ireland U20s squad this season.
Leinster don’t tend to take players into their full academy straight out of school but in the past, most youngsters have been happy to spend a season or more in the Leinster sub-academy to prove themselves worthy of a full academy spot.
That may become less common now if the likes of Connacht are active in luring promising young players away from Leinster. Ryan was one of five players from the Leinster pathway who joined Connacht’s academy at the start of this season.
This is a space well worth watching in the coming years.
For now, Frawley looks like a cracking signing for Connacht. Despite being 28, he simply hasn’t had a long run of games at out-half for Leinster. He has been honest about number 10 being his favoured position, so it will be fascinating to see how it goes for him out west. Interestingly, Frawley didn’t get ahead as an out-half when Stuart Lancaster was at Leinster, although there was obviously stiff competition.
As he underlined again last weekend at fullback for Leinster against Munster, Frawley is a powerful, athletic specimen, while his playmaking from number 12 has been impressive this season again too.
We know he has mental fortitude on the highest stage, thanks to his two remarkable late drop goals to send Ireland to their second-ever Test victory over the Springboks in South Africa in 2024.
Frawley isn’t first-choice in any position at Leinster. While they are the best team in the country and Connacht are obviously struggling at the moment, he has decided to go now. He is clearly backing himself to prove his class at out-half, a position which has yet to be nailed down for Ireland since Johnny Sexton’s retirement.
Cullen and Leinster will be hoping Frawley doesn’t come back to haunt them in the future.
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