Cullen eases Frawley injury fear for Leinster

SOUR NOTE: Ciarán Frawley of Leinster receives treatment with Leinster senior physiotherapist Darragh Curley. Pic: Harry Murphy, Sportsfile

Leinster 43 Stade Francais 7 

Leinster have eased fears over an injury to out-half Ciaran Frawley after cantering to the expected bonus-point win against their Top 14 opponents in Saturday evening’s Heineken Champions Cup pool encounter in Dublin.

It took time for Leo Cullen’s men to find their stride. They eventually strode imperiously past a weakened and half-interested Stade Francais side to claim the bonus-point win in front of over 42,000 spectators and reinforce their credentials at the summit of Pool D.

They mined seven tries of their own with Stade held scoreless until almost two minutes into injury-time when Joris Segonds scampered over for a converted try. To be honest, that was probably below par for what was a stacked Leinster outfit.

The really sour note came shortly after the restart when Ciaran Frawley shipped a tackle to the back by inside-centre Noah Nene, which left him in obvious pain on the ground, and he was taken off after receiving attention.

Frawley was only wearing the No.10 jersey because Harry Byrne had been ruled out with a minor injury picked up in training – and that’s not the first time the latter has been unavailable since his older brother Ross suffered a bad should injury in late November.

“He looks OK. I don't think it's bad. He looks fine,” said Leinster head coach Leo Cullen, “but that’s my amateur eye.” This is not a good time for out-halves to be picking up knocks given Johnny Sexton’s retirement has swung open a door previously shut for so long. If Jack Crowley is the obvious next-man-up then the role of Irish understudy is there to be taken too.

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will name his squad for the opening Six Nations rounds this coming Wednesday and he will surely be keeping his fingers crossed that no other candidates suffer similar hardships in provincial action in the coming week or more.

Better news for him, and Leinster, here was the return of James Lowe for a first Leinster appearance of the season. He scored one of the tries here and Jordan Larmour claimed another pair. Good timing for him given Connacht’s Mack Hansen is currently sidelined.

Leinster’s form has been far from perfect despite their position at the summit of Pool D, and another of equal prominence in the URC, and their first-half efforts had plenty of huff and puff about them despite their comfortable superiority.

The hosts lost at least four lineouts in the period and were close to being caught napping in behind their defensive line a few times by a Stade side whose low tally of points scored is better only than bottom-side Montpellier in the Top 14.

The flip side to that is a parsimonious rearguard, the best in the French league to be precise, and it took Leinster almost the entirety of the first quarter to register their first score – after a Dan Sheehan touch down had been ruled out – through Lowe.

The winger was playing his first game of the season for Leinster after time off back home in New Zealand after the World Cup and an injury, and his finish was basic enough after Leinster had sucked in the defence through a surfeit of possession.

Josh van der Flier claimed the second on the half-hour after a brilliant carry by Caelan Doris and the No.8 must have run with the ball three times in the move that led, after a lovely Garry Ringrose chip kick, to a Sheehan try in first-half injury-time.

Frawley managed just one of the three conversions – the hardest of them – to leave it 17-0 at the break and that was the last real act of meaning for the Skerries man who walked off gingerly four minutes after the restart.

Whatever about longer-term matters, Leinster didn’t miss him here.

Stade’s initially resolute defence began to spring leaks. Tries soon after, for Jordan Larmour and Doris, emanated directly from lung-bursting, pitch-devouring breaks through the middle by Ringrose and then Ryan Baird.

The same pair – Doris and Larmour – claimed the last two tries for the home side before Stade’s late riposte. Its Leicester Tigers away for Leinster next week in the last of the pool games and another win will be sought to improve odds of home knockout draws.

Leinster: H Keenan; J Larmour, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe; C Frawley, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, D Sheehan, T Furlong; J McCarthy, J Jenkins; R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris.

Replacements: S Prendergast for Frawley and J Ryan for Jenkins (both 44); L McGrath for Gibson-Park, R Kelleher for Sheehan, C Healy for Porter and M Ala’alatoa for Furlong (all 53); J Conan for Doris (63); T O’Brien for Ringrose (69).

Stade Francais: L Monin; P Dakuwaqa, S Ahmed, N Nene, K Hamdaoui ; Z Henry, B Weber; C Castets, L Peyresblanque, H N’Diaye; PH Aazagoh, JJ van der Mescht; M Hirigoyen, R Chapuis, G Habel-Kuffner.

Replacements: V Kakovin for Castets (15-32 and 66); PA Emiule for N’Diaye, G Tsutkide for Habel-Kuffner, J Segonds for Nene, P Gabrillagues for van der Mescht, A Timo for Hirigoyen (all 65); M Meite for Peyresblanque, J Gimbert for Weber (all 65).

Referee: C Ridley (Eng).