Can Frawley, like Sexton, get his big break against Munster at Croke Park?

Leinster will host the southern province at GAA HQ on Saturday evening. 

Ciaran Frawley gets used to Croke Park at the captain's run on Friday. INPHO/Dan Sheridan

It seems fitting. A week dominated by one Leinster No.10, whose big break came in his mid-20s and against Munster at Croke Park, will end with another getting a similar opportunity against the same opposition at the very same venue.

Johnny Sexton, whose book ‘Obsessed’ was published on Thursday, was 24 when he replaced the injured Felipe Contepomi in the first-half of the historic and seminal 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final. The rest, as his book would attest to, is history.

Ciaran Frawley is two years older now than Sexton was then. His story to this point is very different but it carries crossover frustrations. Who knows if the results will be anything like the same this time, at GAA HQ and beyond, but it’s hard not to see this as his big chance in blue.

Andy Farrell clearly sees him as an out-half. The Ireland head coach placed his trust in Frawley in South Africa and was rewarded with a match-winning drop goal to level the summer series. And it’s not the first time Farrell has led Leinster in his thinking.

His promotion of Jamison Gibson-Park from second-choice club player to crucial cog in the national team is the obvious example. The hope is that this form of lightning can strike twice when it comes to an under-utilised half-back.

Frawley has played 90 times for Leinster but rarely with the No.10 on his back. There were two starts in the Champions Cup pool stages last term, against Sale and Stade Francais. This one feels bigger given the opponent, the venue and the capacity crowd.

That said, it’s not possible to paint it as a definitive fork in the road.

Sam Prendergast, the heir apparent, has been away in South Africa with Emerging Ireland. Harry Byrne has slipped down the pecking order. Ross Byrne, the main man for so long in Sexton’s absence, is carrying a slight injury that saw him miss Friday’s captain’s run.

Would he have started only for that?

Head coach Leo Cullen is too slippery a subject to tell us that, but there does seem to have been a shift in his thinking where before he would talk about Frawley’s value to the team as a versatile player elsewhere in the back line.

It’s only a matter of weeks since he said that, at some stage, you have to “place your faith in somebody”. New attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal wasn’t long in the door when he was asked about the musical chairs at ten and said that there was “no hierarchy” in his eyes.

“We’re looking at Ciaran now,” said Cullen. He’s come out and publicly said he wants to be a ‘10’ so last week [against Benetton] he played 30 minutes at ‘10’ so it’s hard to get a full judgement on that, isn’t it? So we’ll see. We’re as intrigued as you guys are.” It seems strange to think that Leinster are still at a point where no-one quite knows for sure who their go-to guy is at such a crucial position, but the fact that it is Harry Byrne rather than Frawley covering all positions off the bench seems a significant turn of events.

Too often Frawley’s opportunities have been curbed prematurely.

His run against Stade lasted just 44 minutes before injury pointed him ashore. An excellent start against Benetton in Italy last week was interrupted by injuries and a reshuffle that required him elsewhere as Ross Byrne parachuted in to 10.

Cullen was impressed with his opening half-hour, though. Everyone was.

“In the lead-up to that, he was awesome as well,” said James Lowe. “He's got a good head on him. Obviously he's got Jamo [Gibson-Park] inside him and Garry [Ringrose] outside. Jamie [Osborne] is still learning the ropes. Who knows what position he is at the moment?

“But he controlled the game well, put us in the right areas, and was telling us what to do and when to do it. He's going well. A bit more work on his plate now that he's got to tell us what to do, but he's going well and fitting into that 10 role.” 

It’s easy see why Frawley should have his backers. As Lowe said, he is a big boy who carries “100 kegs” when he runs and his powerful hand-off to an opponent when scoring a try against Benetton last time out highlighted his threat with ball in hand.

There is a USP about him when compared to Ross Byrne, the knowledge that he can be more expressive and ask different questions, but Croke Park will be the biggest test yet of his ability to run a week and a game plan in one of the game’s hottest furnaces.

Chances are that Ross Byrne, if fit enough, will be used off the bench and slot in as out-half at some point, too. Frawley will know that and bake the numbers in to his day. All going well, he should have a good hour to make his strongest case.