Leinster’s Cronin eager to prove a point after poor Six Nations

LIKE many of the players who returned from Ireland’s turbulent Six Nations campaign, Sean Cronin has found redemption at his province. Cronin was dropped from Joe Schmidt’s squad after a poor showing against Italy in the third round of the championship. It was a tough blow, but the Limerick-born hooker has slowly been discovering his best form for Leinster ahead of Sunday’s clash with Toulouse at Lansdowne Road. ‘Yeah it was a bit of a disappointment,’ Cronin (right) admitted. ‘But I think I’m a pretty mentally resilient guy. I can come back and learn from stuff that’s gone on and mistakes that I’ve made. ‘I try and put in my best performance. You try not to dwell on it, try to learn from it, and then just apply yourself when you come back. ‘Whether it’s here or with Ireland — that’s all you can do. ‘I think that’s the big part of it. I think I’ve said before that you’ve got to take the highs with the lows and just try and get better, don’t sulk, don’t get too down on yourself. You just look at the next time that you get out there as an opportunity to go and prove yourself and that’s what I’m trying to do here. ‘I just keep trying to prove myself and keep trying to play well.’ Ireland badly missed Devin Toner’s line-out acumen throughout the Six Nations, with Cronin suffering accordingly. Now, the veteran lock is back in action having returned from a three-month injury layoff. ‘He has huge experience there and to have him back is a huge plus,’ added Cronin. ‘He’s a calm guy, on and off the pitch, and he brings that into the way he operates the line-out just with the clarity and stuff that he brings early on in the week with his preparation.’