Versatility key for Leinster's Rory O’Loughlin

Rory O’Loughlin is in an unusual position for a 22-year-old. Considering he has made his senior Leinster debut, bagged a first European cap and racked up 10 first-team appearances, the season should be rated as a successful one so far.

However, the fact that the man he is chasing for a starting jersey in his favoured position of outside centre — Blackrock prodigy Garry Ringrose — is a year younger than him puts him in an odd spot.

O’Loughlin wore the No 13 jersey for Leinster’s two most recent Guinness PRO12 outings — victory over the Dragons and defeat by Munster — but those games were bookended by their back-to-back European wins against Northampton, when 21-year-old Ringrose was wearing Brian O’Driscoll’s old No.13 shirt.