Leo Cullen insists Leinster were free to start Jordie Barrett for semi-final

The All Blacks star has been named at No 23 for the game with Northampton Saints. 

LAST FOUR: Head coach Leo Cullen with Caelan Doris during a Leinster Rugby captain's run at the Aviva Stadium on Friday. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Leo Cullen has declared that he was free to start All Black superstar Jordie Barrett in Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton Saints at the Aviva Stadium had he wanted to.

The world-class Kiwi will wear the No.23 jersey for the game in Ballsbridge, which is notable given who he is and the performances he has put in since joining the province on a short-term contract last December.

Barrett was untouchable in the quarter-final defeat of Glasgow Warriors and his absence from the XV raised more questions as to whether the four-time competition winners were free to name him in these biggest of games.

The speculation is that there is an IRFU diktat preventing Leinster from choosing their high-profile imports ahead of Irish internationals. Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw – class operators, both - will start in the centre here with Barrett to come off the bench.

The situation is different for Springbok lock RG Snyman who will partner Joe McCarthy for this one given James Ryan is still injured and unavailable. Cullen has previously opted against answering queries over the nature of player contracts when asked.

The Leinster head coach was asked again at Friday’s pre-match press conference if he was free to name Barrett in the starting side and he received it in jocular fashion, laughing through most of his response.

“Aw, this is top-secret now so it is. This might upset people. You can’t get into the ins and outs but he could have got picked, yes. Everyone wants to know. There’s always bits in the background that go on…. It depends who you ask.” 

Cullen had earlier stated that Barrett would offer a “good impact” off the bench and made the point that he will be sitting in good company with Jack Conan, a three-time Test British and Irish Lion, and Andrew Porter among those keeping him company.

The expectation is that Porter will replace Cian Healy in and around the start of the second quarter, which would mean the first-choice loosehead would still get a good chunk of game time and be there when push comes to shove in the final minutes.

The province first tried the move as an experiment in the away game against Munster at Christmas and it has been a success.

“If you take the quarter-final, he came on after, what, 30 minutes? I’d say Cian might have been scratching his head thinking ‘it’s 26-0, why am I getting taken off?’ but he took it in good spirits thankfully. The lads know that it’s about doing what’s best for the team.

“We think that’s a nice combination. Cian is obviously an unbelievably versatile player so if front-row players were to get injured later in the game he has the ability to play 1, 2 and 3 which not many people have done in the game in recent times.” 

The latest estimate is that the attendance will push into the low 40,000s at the Aviva which would be only half what these same two teams played in front of when they met across the river at Croke Park twelve months ago.

This latest tie has been handled by tournament organiser EPCR, unlike last year when Leinster were offered a hands-on role, and there have been criticisms of ticketing prices that will see the Aviva fall well short of its 51,700 capacity.

Cullen and Ryan have made pointed barbs about ticketing issues in previous seasons when it came to semi-finals but the head coach was again of a mind that levity is the best policy as he was asked about the slower-than-expected take-up.

“There are still tickets left. It’s a lovely day I believe so get out and support your team please, we very much appreciate it.”