Leinster have got the best in Barrett

FOR reasons best known to themselves, the Irish rugby cognoscenti are still arguing the toss over the whys and wherefores of Jordie Barrett’s move to Leinster, a club already blessed with enough high-calibre backs to stock a Lions squad. To which the only sensible response is as follows: get a grip.

The Dubliners signed the All Blacks midfielder partly because of his versatility – he can do a turn anywhere from 10 to 15 – but primarily because he is the best inside centre in the world, by a distance significantly greater than a short head. Did anyone ask why Real Madrid bothered to secure the services Kylian Mbappe, given the presence of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham and Luka Modric among their existing attacking options? Not if they were in their right minds, they didn’t.

Barrett will add an enormous amount as Leinster go in search of another Champions Cup title after three successive runner-up finishes – the first two by the aggregate total of four points, the last after extra time. If he doesn’t kick them to important victories, he will win them matches with his passing, his carrying, his defence or his game management. He might even do all five of these things in the same 80 minutes, which doesn’t mean his new team will win the contest five times over, just that they will win it more easily.

What hassle might this cause for Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne and Tommy O’Brien – not to mention the likes of Ciaran Frawley, who may fancy a shift away from No.10 now Sam Prendergast has emerged as flavour of the minute? None at all if they react in the right way – apart, of course, from the significant amounts of trouble they’ll find themselves going to in earning the right to play alongside the man from New Plymouth.