Frawley made 35 metres from just four carries on Saturday night and was arguably Leinster’s brightest spark on an otherwise poor night for the reigning league champions, causing problems for an exceptional Ulster defensive line.

He’s not afraid to get stuck into a game either, with 10 tackles and a turnover win against Dan McFarland’s men in 80 minutes.

The 22-year-old is listed as a fly-half on the team’s website but has played almost exclusively at 12 in the last 15 months, with all starts since the 2019-20 Pro 14 final against Ulster being at inside centre.

Recently, he joined up with the Ireland squad for a week during their preparation for the November international window as a development player.

Backs coach Felipe Contepomi has no doubt in his mind that Frawley is on the right path after his growth in the last two years.

“I think he’s seeing it week in, week out training with us,” Contepomi noted. “It’s a great joy when he’s been called for Ireland, you know.

“And again, even being involved in that manner [as a development player], training with all those great players in that setup – it can only do him better, you know, and help him.”

The 22-year-old redhead has been trusted with five starts this season as the usual number 12 in the side, Robbie Henshaw, missed the start of the season through injury – against Ulster, the pair formed a midfield partnership for the first time this season as Henshaw donned number 13.

Frawley’s speed and distribution makes him a good fit for the inside centre role at Leinster, a spot where he’s enjoyed his best run of form.

Contepomi and co. trust him on the outside of the number 10 and the Argentine believes that Frawley can get even better.

“His growth has been huge in the last two years and he’s still a lot more to go, a long way to go.

“He’s enjoying his rugby and that’s the most important thing, you know, and hopefully he can play a lot for us in the coming weeks.”

The post Leinster back Ciarán Frawley’s growth ‘huge’ in last 2 years – Contepomi appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Byrne suffered a hip injury in his first game of the season against Zebre Parma at the RDS and only returned in blue when he made a cameo in last weekend’s loss to Ulster.

His latest injury came immediately after he had made a recovery from his previous setback in the form of a foot injury.

In that time, he joined the Ireland camp for the Autumn Nations Series and played 30 minutes in the 53-7 win over Argentina but was not at his best.

Contepomi has sympathy for the 22-year-old who will hope to avoid another setback as he looks to get significant game time under his belt this season.

“Sometimes it’s the way it is, you know, if you have some injuries,” the assistant coach said. “He’s been very unlucky in terms of injuries – he’s picked up some strange injuries.

“But he’s now fit and he’s been in the Ireland camp for the last month and now he’s with us for last week and this week so hopefully he can have more games or more game time.”

The Ireland-capped fly-half has only played 38 minutes for Leinster this season, with his season debut against Zebre ending just 22 minutes in.

His cameo against Ulster saw him enter the field with Leinster’s backs against the wall and the prospect made several mistakes as Leo Cullen’s men registered their first defeat of the United Rugby Championship.

However, he is only 22 and, with the experience that he already has under his belt at both provincial and international level, Contepomi believes he can continue to learn and tap into his potential.

On top of this, he hopes that Byrne is preparing himself for success as he plays more and more matches in blue and green.

“That’s what we are trying to do, trying to set him up to be successful. So hopefully he can improve and take the experience he is getting also at international level, or more at international training [and build from it].

“It’s always important to be at an international camp,” the 87-cap former Argentine number 10 said.

“You learn so much from such good players so hopefully he can bring it into Leinster and keep building his game.”

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