Two years ago, Ciarán Frawley cried off the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa through injury. Cathal Forde replaced the Skerries man in the squad and played in the middle match against the Pumas, alongside Antoine Frisch in the centre.
In a parallel universe, they might have faced one another in a midfield tussle when Connacht host Leinster at the Dexcom Stadium in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday night. Forde (23) was once an outhalf at underage level and is now a centre by inclination; Frawley (26) was once an outhalf in age-grade rugby, and wearing the 10 jersey again, via pit stops at fullback and centre.
While their careers have diverged from that sliding doors moment in 2022, the two players have been successful within their respective playing ambits. Frawley’s two drop goals against South Africa in the second Test against the Springboks last July enabled Ireland to draw the series. He has won six Irish caps in the last 14 months and made 22 appearances for Leinster last season.
Forde has come to understand the value of patience as he clambered his way up from grassroots rugby to the prospect of an Ireland cap; perhaps more likely to be on next summer’s tour to Georgia, Romania and potentially Portugal than a run against Fiji in November.
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Corinthians and Coláiste Iognáid provided a grounding in the sport, his aptitude and talent recognised in being crowned at one point the AIL Division 2B player of the year and last season winning the Players’ Player of the Year as voted by his peers in Connacht.
In between he played for the Ireland under-20s under Richie Murphy, and it was the current Ulster head coach that nudged him in the direction of inside centre during the 2021 Six Nations campaign in Cardiff. Forde made his Connacht debut in January 2022, but he made just 13 appearances in the next 18 months, more backup than frontline at that point.
Galway-born, one of his first rugby memories at the Sportsground was Connacht’s 9-8 victory over Harlequins in 2012, while he watched the 2016 Pro12 League final win over Leinster in team-mate Eoin de Buitléar’s house in An Cheathrú Rua.
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As an academy first year Forde was called up to train with first-team centres Bundee Aki, Tom Farrell and Tom Daly, an experience he found invaluable. The senior players were very supportive as he explained in a recent interview. “You have Bundee, who is a distinguished player here, with Ireland and a British and Irish Lion.
“But he’s the most easy-going chap you’re ever going to meet. You can ask him anything, about his game, or anything you feel you can be doing better, and he’ll always give you an honest answer. He’s smart and he knows what he’s talking about. He’s a good lad to have around, as is Mack [Hansen] and Finlay [Bealham]. They add a bit of character to the place.”
Forde’s early Connacht heroes were Tiernan O’Halloran, Gavin Duffy and Dan Parks, while in an Ireland context, it was Ronan O’Gara, Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll. He and his acolytes, Shane Jennings (23) — they played together as a midfield combination for the Irish 20s — another player of rich promise, whether at centre or wing and David Hawkshaw (25) can fire the imagination of the next tranche of centres.
Hugh Gavin (20) and Bray-born Finn Treacy (20), great prospects in their own right, can look much closer than the east coast for inspiration in a rugby capacity, while John Devine (22) and Daniel Hawkshaw (22) understand the playing standards they need to broach to progress.
Academy manager Eric Elwood and Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins have recruited and nurtured a promising coterie of young centres. In the second half of last season Forde covered outhalf, both centre positions and fullback, an obvious overlap with the aforementioned Frawley.
While versatility is a cherished attribute, Forde, no less than his Leinster counterpart, would like to nail down one position. While Frawley’s is outhalf, Forde now prefers centre, 12 or 13.
The departure of Tom Farrell and Tom Daly during the summer has seen him start three of the first four matches, score tries against Munster and the Sharks and kick a brilliant match-winning penalty to beat the Scarlets.
The speculation is that Sam Prendergast, newly returned from his Emerging Ireland experience in South Africa, will fulfil the outhalf role for Leinster at the weekend. Frawley, having started the province’s last two games at 10, will be rested.
Forde doesn’t want to be the quiet man come Saturday evening. Games of this nature are a down payment for the ambitious on future success.
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