Jordie Barrett will meet his new Leinster team-mates later this week. The New Zealand centre is en route to Dublin from Turin.
Is he available for Leinster’s United Rugby Championship match against Ulster at Kingspan Stadium on Friday (kick-off 7.35pm)? Leo Cullen smiled before providing an enigmatic response. “Probably a bit close, we’ll see.
“He’s in this week. He’s making his way from wherever he is in Europe at the moment. Some final bits he had to tie off with the NZRU (New Zealand Rugby Union).”
Barrett picked up a leg injury against France, going off after 36 minutes at the Stade de France, and subsequently missed the All Blacks’ victory over Italy in Turin. “His injury is not too bad. He was a little nervous, but he had a scan so that’s what we want, get him in the door, and let’s see how he looks running around,” Cullen added.
Ireland internationals Jack Conan, Jimmy O’Brien and Jordan Larmour returned to training following injuries and will be available, while hookers Lee Barron and John McKee are also back in the selection mix, timely return given that Rónan Kelleher and Gus McCarthy, who made his Irish debut against Fiji, are currently on international duty.
McKee confirmed his fitness by playing in Leinster’s 22-7 win over Munster in the A interprovincial at Lakelands last Friday night. There were no further injury updates on hooker Dan Sheehan, winger Rob Russell, prop Paddy McCarthy and winger/centre Tommy O’Brien.
Cullen was non-committal as to who, if anyone, might be repatriated from Ireland camp, but Ryan Baird trained with the province. RG Snyman is due back in Dublin this week after his duties with the Springboks but is unlikely to feature in Belfast.
Leinster lost two of their three clashes against Ulster in the URC last season – Leinster winning the quarter-final – so Cullen knows the extent of the task ahead on Friday.
“It’s a tough place to go and get a result. You know, if you think back to the end of last season, we were up there and lost the game. We lost both games during the regular season. And those two losses, if you look at the league table at the end, it’s like if you could take one of those (as a) win, then you’re not travelling away to South Africa.
Are Ireland back to their best after thrashing Fiji?
“We know what it means to them. They’ve guys that know us well in their ranks and it’s a huge game for them so it’s making sure that we understand that we respect that, and (that) we’re able to give a proper version of ourselves. You will see two teams that are fully committed going at it, which is what you see in this fixture all the time.
“Richie (Murphy) has gone well. He has done some amazing things with the (Ireland) under-20s, particularly with our younger lads, and that poses some challenges as well. But regardless, I think you’re just going to have two sets of players that will be fighting tooth and nail in a derby, which is what I think people want to see.”
Leinster go straight from Belfast into prepping for the first Champions Cup tie, which will see them travel to the Ashton Gate Stadium the following Sunday to play Pat Lam’s Bristol Bears.
It’s a tight turnaround for Cullen and his coaching team as Ireland’s game against Australia on Saturday means the first time he’ll have the full Leinster squad at his disposal is next Monday.
“It’s tight this year versus what it would have been in previous years. Because of the format of four games (at the pool stage of the Champions Cup), the structure of it, it’s a seeding exercise in many respects.”
Cullen also pointed to the financial benefits of earning home games in the knockout stages of Europe. “It’s critical for us as a club, in what we’re trying to achieve, to qualify first but (then) to get a decent seeding.”
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