Chance for Frawley to lay down a marker as Blues No10
A“He will have much quality around him”
LL eyes will be on Ciaran Frawley at the RDS this evening. The 24-year-old has broken into Leinster ranks as a playmaking centre in recent seasons, but the grand plan is for the Skerries clubman to see a lot more action at No10 during the forthcoming campaign. All things going according to plan, he will be be riding shotgun to Johnny Sexton at next year’s World Cup in France.
The process began in New Zealand when he impressed in Ireland’s midweek games against the Maori All Blacks. On Sunday, he will board a flight to Bloemfontein along with a host of rookie players ahead of the Emerging Ireland tour. No doubt, Frawley will be front and centre throughout the nine-day tournament in South Africa. The message to this promising young player will be clear: run this operation like Sexton and his international credentials will be enhanced ever further. The issue for the IRFU and Andy Farrell, as ever, is the logjam of players at Leinster. Frawley is being lined up as a big prospect down the line, but there is the small matter of the Byrne brothers — not to mention Sexton — in the Leinster out-half pecking order. Ross Byrne has never really grabbed the attention of the Ireland selectors while younger brother Harry has promise but also a worrying injury profile and an inability to put a run of games together. Jack Carty and Billy Burns have both failed auditions in the past while Joey Carbery has yet to fully convince at Test level. The Munster playmaker has made no shortage of impressive late cameos. However, there is a nagging feeling that Carbery is currently lacking the presence and authority to run the show in the midst of a white-hot international clash.
So, Frawley is suddenly in the frame. Tonight at the RDS, he has a chance to lay down an early marker ahead of what could be a transformative campaign. Interestingly, this is only Frawley’s second start at out-half in club colours in as many seasons. That all is all set to change, going forward. Charlie Ngatai’s arrival from Lyon has bolstered Leinster’s midfield stocks and Frawley will see a lot more action in his favoured position, beginning with this evening’s assignment against Treviso.
He will have no shortage of quality around him. After last weekend’s patchy opening win against Zebre in Parma, Leo Cullen has drafted a host of returning Ireland internationals back into his starting line-up. Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, James Ryan, Josh van der Flier, Ryan Baird are all back after their record-breaking feats in New Zealand. Seeing so many Test stars on the domestic beat is rare, but this has been something of a trade-off with the IRFU to pave the way for the Emerging Ireland tour. Leinster, as always, will suffer the heaviest losses in personnel but having their sizeable Ireland contingent back will soften the blow somewhat. This is also a World Cup season and will thus run a little shorter. The usual 21game regular season run has been condensed to 18 games with the
Grand Final taking place in May.
So, Cullen has most of his big names back for early stages of this campaign. Frawley’s presence at No10 is intriguing but Baird’s deployment on the blindside is a glimpse into the young forward’s future. The 23-year-old packs down in a dynamic backrow alongside Van der Flier and Doris. Cian Healy’s presence on the bench as a tighthead replacement also looks like a tactical move with the 2023 World Cup in mind as well. Ryan, Sheehan and Porter are back to bolster the tight five while Henshaw and Ringrose, who captains the side, are the star attractions in a backline brimming with talent. Frawley will have no shortage of quick, front-foot ball and attacking options.
Saying that, the Italian visitors are no longer the easy beats of seasons past. Under the guidance of former Azzurri captain Marco Bortolami, Treviso have been steadily improving and they are taking some big scalps these days.
Their Rainbow Cup triumph in 2021 was no flash in the pan. Last weekend, they made a stunning start to the URC with a 33-11 hammering of Glasgow at Stadio Monigo.
Taking on Leinster in their backyard is the toughest assignment in this league, but Treviso are no longer cannon fodder in this tournament. The quality of the home side should shine through eventually, mind, especially with a stacked bench featuring Ngatai, Healy, Will Connors and promising rookie scrum-half Cormac Foley.
Another win, albeit a hard-fought one, looks on the cards but there is a bigger picture and it all starts with the man in the No10 shirt.
LEINSTER: J O’Brien; J Larmour, G Ringrose (capt), R Henshaw, D Kearney; C Frawley, L McGrath; A Porter, D Sheehan, M Ala’alatoa; J Ryan, J Jenkins; R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris. Reps: R Kelleher, E Byrne, C Healy, R Molony, W Connors, C Foley, R Byrne, C Ngatai.
BENETTON: I Mendy; M Bellini, J Riera, M Zanon, O Ratave; G da Re, S HidalgoClyne; I Nemer, G Nicotera, S Ferrari; N Cannone, S Scafton; G Pettinelli, M Lamaro (capt), T Halafihi.
Reps: G Lucchesi, F Zani, F Alongi, C Wegner, H Time-Stowers, M Albanese, T Menoncello, T Tavuyara.
Referee: J Peyper (South Africa). TV: Kick-off at 7.35pm, RDS Arena.
LIVE on TG4 from 7.15pm.