LEO CULLEN believes All Black Jordie Barrett can sprinkle gold dust on the next generation of Leinster and Ireland stars.
New Zealand superstar Barrett, 27, is set to join Leinster on a short-term deal next December in what is a big statement signing by Cullen’s men.
2
2
But while his signing will put bums on seats at the Aviva Stadium, where Leinster will play next season while the RDS is redeveloped, the move has not been universally welcomed.
Cullen has the advantage of having more players on central IRFU contracts than any of his provincial rivals, which also means they have greater resources to land a star like Barrett.
Next season, Leinster will have ten players on central contract, while Munster, Connacht and Ulster will have one a-piece.
But Cullen insists that he wants Leinster to remain a production line for Ireland; and he believes Barrett is a help to that rather than a hindrance.
He said: “I haven’t really thought a huge amount about it to be honest. We want to be able to produce players to play for Ireland, that’s the model in this country.
“We want our guys to go on and represent Ireland and we want to be able to give everything they have when they do represent Ireland and that’s what we’ll continue to do.
“All the academy players are based in the building with us, they’re changing in the same dressing room, it’s that daily interaction, the habits.
“They see the guys who are going on to play with Ireland.
“But just to get a slightly different perspective (like Barrett) it is quite a nice thing to the group, just that little bit of gold dust that gets added to everybody, particularly the young players.”
He also highlighted the previous example of Kiwi Brad Thorn, who joined Leinster on a three-month deal in 2012 and helped the province win their third Champions Cup.
Cullen said: “Some of the language some of the players use to this day, it would come from Brad.
“He was a great influence on the group, and he was only ten to 12 weeks he was here for, I think that’s an important piece if you can get the right person in, they can add not just in the short-term but in the longer team.”
Barrett could be similar in his own short-term deal that will run from December when the Autumn internationals end until the end of the season in May.
Cullen continued: “Because you have only so many opportunities to bring coaches and players from the outside, you want to make sure that whoever you are bringing in is really going to add value.
“He’s a player that hopefully can get from a supporter point of view, that they’re excited to see.
“He’s a top quality All Black…both sides of the ball, very strong defender and very skilful attacker, versatility as well.
“That’s something we’re drawn to as well because we’ve got players that are moving between the national set-up and our own.”
INJURY UPDATES
Meanwhile, Cullen revealed that Jimmy O’Brien, Hugo Keenan and Garry Ringrose should all be fit for the Champions Cup semi-final against Northampton at Croke Park on Saturday week.
But his main focus now is on Saturday’s URC meeting with Stormers in Cape Town after a rare humbling last weekend when Lions beat them 44-12 in Johannesburg.
Cullen added: “There was a lot of good news last week and unfortunately some of that becomes a distraction.
“It should be a positive distraction but unfortunately we didn’t capitalise on some of that positive momentum that’s out there at the moment.”
