Jordie Barrett ‘feeing great’ as he begins his Leinster chapter
WORLD-CLASS: Jordie Barrett at Leinster training. Picture: ©INPHO/James Crombie
Tadhg Furlong picked him up at Dublin Airport on arrival. He went viral pulling himself a pint of Guinness, and there are no shortage of Kiwis at his new club to make him feel at home too.
It’s no wonder that Jordie Barrett has praised the ‘royal treatment’ he has received since starting his short-term contract with Leinster. Whether he will start to pay all that back this week, as the province begins its Champions Cup game away to Bristol Bears on Sunday, remains to be seen.
The man himself has insisted that “the body’s feeling great” after an injury-interrupted November Test window with the All Blacks.
“Yeah, he hasn’t undergone all the protocols but it is one day at a time and we’ll just monitor how he progresses with a bit more intensity but he is looking good anyway,” said forwards coach Robin McBryde.
“I’m sure he is a second row, looking at the size of him. He’s good.”
Where this ultra-versatile, experienced and talented back fits into an already loaded lineup is another thing. Centre or full-back are familiar haunts but Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw and Hugo Keenan are all fit and hardly of a mind to vacate their jerseys now or for any of the many high-profile games to come.
There is no doubting the man’s class but the announcement of his signing was met with some confusion at the time given those resources already at Leo Cullen’s disposal. His input over the next seven or eight months will be intriguing.
“He’s been great,” said Jordan Larmour. “His first training session with everyone went great so everyone is just trying to get him up to speed as quickly as possible but he is doing very well and he’s obviously an unbelievable player.
“He is world-class. So it will be pretty cool hopefully to play a lot with him this season and learn from him through his experiences, his knowledge and everything he has done in the game so far.”
Tadhg Furlong and Jamie Osborne have been ruled out of Sunday’s tournament opener in Bristol due to injuries suffered during the November international period with Andy Farrell’s Ireland.
Osborne suffered a groin injury early in to an impressive performance at full-back against Fiji two weeks ago, while Furlong didn’t even make the pitch after picking up a hamstring problem before the first game against New Zealand.
Openside flanker Will Connors has also been ruled out of the Bristol game because of a hamstring injury suffered during last weekend’s URC win over Ulster but the versatile forward Ryan Baird is good to go after clearing graduated return to play protocols.
Add in RG Snyman and Rabah Slimani and Leinster have an even greater abundance of riches at their disposal as they chase a first Champions Cup title since 2018 but they turn into this tie with a number of Ireland internationals who have already carried a heavy load over the previous month.
That can’t be ignored.
“It is important we manage each individual and look at those minutes they have played,” said McBryde. “It has been a big workload for a lot of those players. That will be taken into consideration when we are looking at selection etc. That being said we are heading into Europe.
“You’re right in what you are saying: it is a fine line between being battle-hardened and battle weary so we’ve got to make sure that we don’t put anybody at risk and just manage those players that have had a high workload in the last month.”
Leinster won’t have just experienced Test vets back in the ranks this week. The elevation to the senior internationals ranks of Sam Prendergast, Thomas Clarkson and Gus McCarthy had only swelled the province’s strength in depth.
For Prendergast, the question is whether he will follow a first cap and a first Test start in recent weeks with a first career Champions Cup start. Ciaran Frawley and the Byrne’s, Ross and Harry, occupy their own roles in this localised drama.
It may be a level down from the globalised noise levels that surround the Ireland out-half debate but it is a sporting soap opera of its own and one the likes of Prendergast and Frawley will have to cope with.
“I’m only speaking for myself here but when you decide to play professional rugby and you are wearing the No.10 jersey in particular then it doesn’t matter what country you are in,” said McBryde. “You’re gonna have an amount of pressure put on you. You just deal with it, don’t you?
“You just choose what you listen to and what you read and maybe shut yourself up from all that, but I am not going to speak on their behalf. It comes with the territory and I’m sure they’re more than capable of dealing with it.”
