Patience a virtue for young O’Malley

EOIN O’MALLEY is a patient young man. And, in the mould of all young centres at Leinster, he needs to be.

Few paths to the top are as fiercely blocked as the number 12 and 13 jerseys on the east coast where Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll have ruled the roost for as long as O’Malley can remember.

Throw in the abilities of Luke Fitzgerald, Isa Nacewa and Shane Horgan – among others — so both the 22 -year-old and his Old Belvedere clubmate Fergus McFadden must bide their time and take whatever opportunities that come their way.