Lancaster says Frawley arrival does not mean end of the line for Connacht top scorer Carty

LOOKING AHEAD: Stuart Lancaster says that Ciáran Frawley has been signed to be Connacht’s out-half and that it will be the first of what he hopes will be several new faces arriving next summer with 20 of the current squad out of contract. Picture: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Stuart Lancaster says that Ciáran Frawley has been signed to be Connacht’s out-half and that it will be the first of what he hopes will be several new faces arriving next summer with 20 of the current squad out of contract.

But while Frawley is being brought to Galway to be the primary No.10, Lancaster said it does not mean the end of the line for the province’s all-time top scorer Jack Carty who is one of those players whose contract expires at the end of the current campaign.

Josh Ioane, capped once by the All Blacks, had his contract extended last season to the summer of 2027 while the likes of Cathal Forde and Sean Naughton are others who can challenge for the out-half role, Lancaster said that talks are ongoing with 33-year-old Carty.

“I'm having continual conversations with Jack. I mean, Jack's like my assistant coach anyway. He's such a good guy.

"So there's no decisions made on Jack at the moment. We still need to sort of finalise that.

“There's no ideal timing for these things, but when a player of Ciarán's quality comes on the market, and you've got a chance to get him, then you've got to try and get him. I was honest with Jack and Josh from the start and said to them, listen, we are going to bring, once I realised it was potentially going to happen, someone else in. And they just want what's best for Connacht,” said Lancaster.

Frawley is Lancaster’s first signing for Connacht and as the squad for this season was finalised when he arrived last summer and with close to half of them out of contract at the end of this campaign, what can Connacht supporters expect in terms of new players or contract extensions for current ones?

“A bit of both, I think so,” added Lancaster. “I think that it's only the cyclical nature of professional sport.

“I think we want to try and build a model where we are promoting our young lads from within. And I'd like to think if I'm a Connacht supporter, they understand the logic of a Fiachna Barret or a Billy Bohan or these guys getting experience now. Clearly my job is to win in the short term, which obviously I'm committed to doing.

“But equally, I have also one eye on developing Connacht for the long term as well. And I do think that mindset will come good for the club. So I don't want to deviate off that path.” 

His primary concern now though is to get his side back on track in the URC after successive losses to Dragons and Ulster but they face a daunting task heading to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening to take on Leinster.

They will be without versatile back Hugh Gavin who has a shoulder injury, while back rower Shamus Hurley-Langton has undergone shoulder surgery and is out until March.

But another back rower Paul Boyle has returned from a facial injury while back Shane Jennings (quad) and back rower Oisin McCormack (hamstring) are back in training.