Leinster boss Leo Cullen set to hand Jordie Barrett first start in ...
JORDIE BARRETT has been handed his first Leinster start at full-back.
And, while head coach Leo Cullen was happy to admit there were discussions with New Zealand Rugby about where Barrett was played, he was less forthcoming when it came to RG Snyman.
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Earlier this week, Barrett said he would like to think of himself as ‘a No 12 who can probably play full-back’.
And it is in the latter position that he has got the nod for this evening’s clash against Clermont-Auvergne at the Aviva Stadium.
Cullen said that, with the All Blacks having to sanction his short-term Leinster move, they had an input as to where he would be played.
The Blues boss said: “We’ve never had to manage a player like Jordie before... when we go to try and sign him but it has to work from an NZRU point of view because he has a contract with us which is built into another contract which is his primary piece.
“To get the sign-off from New Zealand Rugby Union, we had a lot of these different conversations about what happens with this, this and this, such as, ‘Where do you want to play him?’
“And it’s, ‘Listen, probably here but there will be opportunities that you would hope he would play here as well’.
“Jordie said it himself, he’s used to playing in midfield but needs must and for us to be able to have someone of his skill who can step into that position is fantastic.
“He’s great with the group, he sees things in a different way.”
But Cullen was reluctant to be drawn on whether he had a free hand when it came to selecting Snyman, who is on the bench.
He was asked if there was an IRFU restriction on starting the two-time World Cup winner in a European game if fellow locks James Ryan and Joe McCarthy were fit and available.
New Zealand rugby star Jordie Barrett delights Dublin pub with Guinness pour
They both lined out from the off last week against Bristol Bears and will do so again today.
He said: “That’s a very private question. I don’t know if I’d be able to answer that in this forum.
“There would always be various conversations that would go on in the background but it’s not something I’d be willing to share.
“We’ve got a couple of good ones starting and RG does that role pretty well for South Africa.”
Snyman has made a positive start to his Leinster career after spending more than half of his four years with Munster recovering from two ACL injuries.
Asked if it was likely that he would extend his stay beyond his 12-month deal, Cullen said: “He’s done well. We’re at that stage of the season when conversations are ongoing.”
Cullen has made five changes from last week with Liam Turner, Andrew Porter, Thomas Clarkson, captain Caelan Doris and Max Deegan coming into the starting XV.
LEINSTER: J Barrett; L Turner, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J O’Brien, S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Clarkson, J McCarthy, J Ryan, M Deegan, J van der Flier, C Doris. Reps: G McCarthy, C Healy, R Slimani, RG Snyman, J Conan, F Gunne, R Byrne, A Osborne.
