LEINSTER LOOK SET to head into their upcoming Champions Cup fixtures without the services of Ross Byrne but after a testing few weeks for the province, the out-half pecking order continues to be a fascinating battle at the province.
Since Byrne was forced off early with an arm injury against Munster on 25 November, Leo Cullen has handed starts to Harry Byrne, Ciarán Frawley and Sam Prendergast in the 10 shirt.
With Ross Byrne not likely to return to action until next month, his extended absence has offered Leinster an opportunity to hand more minutes to the three competing 10s who all hold ambitions of making the jersey their own.
Harry Byrne (24) continues to be the favoured back-up option to his older brother but has endured some difficult moments during his recent outings. So far this season the younger Byrne brother has played 431 minutes for Leinster, making eight appearances and starting six times with 10 on his back.
Cullen stated it was “time to deliver” before Byrne delivered an impressive showing away to La Rochelle in early December, only to see injury cut his evening short after 39 minutes. He returned to kick Leinster to victory over Munster on St Stephen’s Day but will have been frustrated to see two kicks for the posts fly wide in difficult conditions. He had some nice touches after coming off the bench against Ulster earlier this week but the game ended on a sour note as his late touch-finder failed to reach its target.
Still, Byrne appears in pole position to be the starting 10 as Leinster prepare for European clashes with Stade Francais (13 January) and Leicester Tigers (20 January).
That could lead to further frustration for Ciarán Frawley, who has outlined his desire to get more minutes at out-half.
Frawley was excellent off the bench when sent in to replace Ross Byrne during the Munster game in November but didn’t hit the same heights when backed to start at out-half against Sale Sharks, where he was part of an inconsistent team performance as Leinster managed to hold off a spirited, yet understrength Sale side.
It felt like a missed opportunity for Frawley and that defeat of Sale remains his only start at 10 this season. While the Skerries man has clocked up 739 minutes on the pitch across 12 games, six of his eight starts have come at fullback and he lined out at inside centre away to Munster.
The 26-year-old’s long-term home could yet prove to be at out-half but for now, his versatility continues to keep him away from his favoured position.
The third player in the mix is Prendergast. By far the most inexperienced of the trio, Prendergast – who will turn 21 next month – is an exciting prospect for the future. The Ulster game was his first interpro start and brought him up to 184 minutes for the season, starting in two of his six appearances.
The challenge for Leo Cullen is to give all three players enough time in the saddle while ensuring Leinster have reliable, consistent cover beyond Ross Byrne.
It’s a difficult balance to strike but the Leinster boss says he is happy with how the province rotated their options over the busy Christmas period.
“When Ross gets injured in that Munster game its ‘listen, lets see how the other guys go now’,” Cullen says.
“Ciarán had his opportunity against Munster and he has played in URC and in Europe. Sam has come off the bench in Europe and played here (against Ulster on Monday). Harry has started a game in the Champions Cup so it has been amazing from that point of view to have the three lads.
“And you are able to manage them because Sam is a young guy, 20 years of age, and you have to be more patient. The other guys have been around the block longer so for a young lad there are the moving parts of managing the team, the physical step up from underage rugby so that has been really positive.
“With young players you have to have that patience and care and make sure that with the level of expectation there will be mistakes as well.”
Prendergast enjoyed a decent outing against Ulster before being replaced by Harry Byrne as Leinster chased the game entering the final 20 minutes. Byrne nailed a tough conversion attempt moments after coming on but his night ended with that misplaced kick to touch which meant Leinster lost the opportunity to steal a late win.
“It’s been great overall but it would have been great if we could have manufactured a win there but the ball goes in there, we get a rumble on and we have a drive that we don’t execute at the end and that’s another experience for Harry in that case after he comes off the bench, trying to manage those moments,” Cullen continues.
“But it is positive in that it is time in the saddle for all three of those players. We’ve had to manage the game time for them as well because of different factors. Harry obviously came off at half-time in La Rochelle with a head knock and missed the next week. That gave Ciarán the chance to step in and Sam got his European debut off the bench as well and we were keen to give Sam his chance from the start in one of these games as well.
“With other lads going down, the likes of Charlie Ngatai and Jamie Osborne, we have Ciarán who gives us a lot of versatility. He has a lot of minutes for us and he was due to be managed out this week and then Jimmy (O’Brien) goes down late and suddenly Ciarán is back in.
“So there’s been a few things have gone (on) but overall it has been positive because they have had time and experience. Some of that is positive and some of it needs work but it is still experience. So the group will be in a better place for the three lads having got some pretty important minutes.
“We had been on a good run of winning games. It wasn’t always perfect and we probably came unstuck because we won a couple of tight games and now we’ve lost a tight game.”
It was a disappointing way for Leinster to see their nine-game unbeaten run across the URC and Champions Cup come to an end. As they prepare to head back into European action against Stade Francais next week, the out-half situation will surely throw up a few more twists before the season ends.
Season stats:
- Ross Byrne: 254 minutes, 6 appearances, 3 starts
- Harry Byrne: 431 mins, 8 apps, 6 starts
- Ciarán Frawley: 739 mins, 12 apps, 8 starts* [fullback (6), out-half (1), centre (1)]
- Sam Prendergast: 184 mins, 6 apps, 2 starts
