Although Leinster did their utmost to keep Ciarán Frawley within their ranks, head coach Leo Cullen admitted he understands why the utility back made the decision to depart the province in favour of Connacht at the end of the season.
A week after it was first reported that a move was in the pipeline for the 28-year-old, it was confirmed on Monday that Frawley will be joining the westerners next season on a two-year deal. The switch will see the Skerries native reunite with Stuart Lancaster, who is in his first season at the helm with Connacht having spent seven years as a senior coach at Leinster from 2016 to 2023.
There will be other familiar faces too, with eight of Connacht’s present squad having previously appeared for Leinster at senior level. A number of former Leinster hopefuls are also part of the set-ups in Munster and Ulster, but Cullen insisted it isn’t a source of frustration on his part to see some of those who have come through the Leinster system moving to other provinces.
“We tried to keep Ciarán here, but he’s made a decision. It’s the professional world we’re in. Ciarán’s been a great part of the group here. We understand his reasons. Decisions get made and we move on,” said Cullen.
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“Frustration’s not the right word, is it? I think there’s a great opportunity for our guys to play professionally.
“If it’s not here, it’s somewhere else. The other provinces, they take our guys on board, which is great. From a Leinster point of view, there’s no downside to that, is there? It’s not like we go ‘keep 100 players’.
“We have 45 senior players and we have 20, 22 academy players. So there’s no year that the numbers change drastically – you’re talking one, two or three (players) either side of that. So we don’t actually have any more space in the building.”
The move to Connacht may see Frawley offered a chance at regular game time at outhalf. While he has donned the number 10 jersey on a number of occasions across his 112 appearances for Leinster, his versatility has also seen him line out at inside centre and fullback on a regular basis.
Confirming Frawley is in the mix to face his future employers in their URC clash at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 5.30pm), Cullen said the opportunity to focus on one position in order to improve his Ireland prospects likely contributed to his decision to join Connacht.
“Let’s call a spade a spade. He’s been away in November (for Ireland’s November internationals). I think he sees in terms of what the national coaches want. Does he want to nail down playing 10? I think he’s going to get that opportunity at Connacht. Does that play out? Listen, it is what it is. We love Frawls. We think he’s a great person, first and foremost,” said Cullen.
“He’s been a great player for us, been involved in lots of positive moments over the years. We wish him well as well. He talked to the group here this morning [Monday]. He explained it in his own words. So, I’d rather him explaining it in his words to you guys at some point down the track. We shake hands and move on.
“Between now and the end of the season, everyone’s focused on delivering for Leinster. Next season is next season. This season is this season. We’re all sort of in the here and the now at the moment.
“We’re five games down of the 10 games of this period. We need all hands on deck really at the moment, because there’s lots of things going on, players being managed. Every team has the same sort of thing going on. Maybe they don’t have the same amount of players that need to be managed that we do.”
