Stuart Lancaster refuses to be drawn on Ciarán Frawley link to Connacht

Connacht will be without Shayne Bolton and Caolin Blade for this weekend's interpro due to injuries they picked up last weekend.

SPECULATION: Stuart Lancaster has refused to be drawn on speculation linking Ciarán Frawley with a move from Leinster to Connacht next season. 

Stuart Lancaster has refused to be drawn on speculation linking Ciarán Frawley with a move from Leinster to Connacht next season.

Lancaster worked with Frawley during his time with Leinster and as he heads towards the midway point in his first season with Connacht the focus will switch to how he will strengthen his squad next summer, not least after winning just two of their opening six URC games.

At the moment there are 14 players in the Connacht squad who are from Leinster or have come through the system there and it’s almost inevitable that flow will continue under Lancaster given the amount of players he’s worked with during his seven seasons there.

But asked at the weekly press conference Monday if he wanted to say anything on a possible Frawley move west, his answer was simple: “No”.

Lancaster has other things on his mind after Connacht’s collapse to the Dragons on Saturday night when they conceded 48 points without reply in a 45-minute spell going down by 20 points to a team without a league win in 15 months.

He needs to get his side ready for the first of two inter-pros, starting on Saturday night against Ulster at Dexcom Stadium in Galway.

“To concede that many points in those circumstances was hugely disappointing,” said Lancaster. “So, a lot of honesty this morning and a lot of evidence showing why and obviously a lot of solutions as well.

“I'm not one as a coach to go in and just berate the players without offering answers and opportunities for the players to right it. There's nothing better than inter-pro coming round the corner at home against Ulster.” 

He will head into that game without two of the starters from Saturday night with winger Shayne Bolton out with a quad injury which forced him off after just seven minutes, while experienced scrum-half Caolin Blade suffered an Achilles injury which saw him have to be replaced at the break and is now ruled out of Saturday’s clash.