McFadden ready for centre stage

FERGUS McFADDEN would like it to be known that he isn’t losing the run of himself, even if he has every reason to.

Pigeonholed for so long as the frustrated understudy to Brian O’Driscoll, the 24-year-old’s patience has been recently rewarded with a string of superb performances thanks to a necklace of injuries to some of Leinster’s most celebrated backs.

That elevation into the first 15 and the limelight which comes with it was always going to attract some good-natured stick from his friends, especially now that he is sporting what could pass for a silver studded ring above his right eye.