Cullen: Byrne deserves opportunity to shine

It’s 10 years now since Felipe Contepomi’s knee crumpled and Jonathan Sexton stepped into the breach for a European knockout fixture in Dublin against an interprovincial rival. So, the scene presented by Leinster today isn’t totally new.

With Sexton missing out due to what Leo Cullen vaguely referred to as a tightness in a calf muscle, it falls to his understudy Ross Byrne to guide the reigning champions through to the semi-finals. The more things change... although some things aren’t the same.

Contepomi came a cropper during the first half of that epic Croke Park semi-final with Munster in 2009. Byrne will at least have had the week and probably more to get his head around starting — or even appearing in — a Champions Cup knockout game for the very first time.

Byrne, as was the case with Sexton back then, is a 23-year- old out-half with an impressive ability to run a game, but he is considerably more experienced than the older man was when the latter came off the bench at the GAA’s HQ back in the day.

The sum of Sexton’s European experience at the time was four games, two of them coming as a late replacement and the others a pair of starts against Castres, with the latter of those proving to be a sobering experience at the Stade Pierre Antoine.

Byrne has 15 European appearances to his credit already. Seven were starts, most thanks to various injuries previously suffered by the reigning world player of the year. This is clearly not a babe in the woods we are talking about here.

Byrne had his hand on the tiller both times when Leinster put 97 points on Northampton Saints in the space of a week two years ago. He has started big games in France and at home in Dublin and Leinster’s record when he wears 10 in Europe is won six, drawn one.

It’s a stat that could easily be stretched out to won seven, drawn one given he banked 68 minutes against Exeter in Ballsbridge 15 months ago after Sexton left the field early. His opportunity to call the shots from the off at this late stage of a Euro campaign is well overdue.

“It is a great step for Ross,” said Cullen.

He is probably the person who deserves it more than anybody else in the group. In last year’s European campaign, Ross was unbelievably unlucky to miss out on the quarter-final, semi-final, final of Europe after the role he played during the campaign.

“In the game here against Exeter when he comes on early, he leaves for a HIA, comes back on and steers us around the field after we were 17-3 down in that game. He played a huge role that day. Away against Montpellier (in round six last season), he started that game over there which meant we got a top seeding.”

Byrne brings more than just ability, poise, and no little experience to Leinster’s challenge this evening. Joe Schmidt’s decision to give Connacht’s Jack Carty some Six Nations exposure this year will have surely lodged in the mind of the St Michael’s graduate.

Byrne’s only involvement with Ireland throughout the recent championship was when called up to the extended squad for the week prior to the round four France game. And this despite the injury issues experienced by Joey Carbery throughout that spell, too.

It must have made for a deeply frustrating spell for a player whose pursuit of Sexton’s No.10 jersey for club and country was complicated by the presence of Carbery in both dressing rooms until the latter’s switch to Munster last summer. Yet that snub may well work in Leinster’s favour here.

“He has played such an important role this year, in (Champions Cup) round five and round six,” said Cullen. “He is in good form at the moment. He’s confident at the moment. The fact he hasn’t been in (Ireland) camp means he’s very clear on what we’re trying to deliver as coaches.

“That makes a big difference. For other guys dropping back in and out, it is more difficult. Ross has a good, clear picture in his mind as to what we are all trying to do and he’s delivering well on that over the course of the season. He’s pretty integral to a lot of the good things that have taken place so far this year.”

Expect that to continue today.