Connacht will battle to hold on to McCarthy

Connacht have launched a drive to hold on to Ireland second-row Mike McCarthy after it emerged Leinster are keen to sign him.

Connacht chief executive Tom Sears said they have appealed to the IRFU to help them hold on to the 31-year old, who was Man of the Match against South Africa a couple of weeks ago and who picked up his sixth Ireland cap against Argentina last weekend. Sears said it was vital that experienced players like McCarthy remained at the Sportsground.

“He is an intrinsic member of our squad who has come through our system here and we need to hold on to players like him. It is the same with the young talent we have developed. We need to bring them through and we need to have role models like Mike on board to help that process,” said Sears.