Jordie Barrett: All Black could make Leinster bow against Bristol

Leinster boss Leo Cullen says the province wants to “ensure” All Black Jordie Barrett is successful during his short stay in Dublin.

The utility back joined the RDS this week and acted as water carrier for his new team-mates as they beat Ulster 27-20 in Belfast on Friday night to make it seven wins from seven games in this season’s United Rugby Championship.

The 27-year-old, who has a contract that runs until the end of the season, has suffered a minor setback on international duty this month but Cullen said he looked “okay” as Leinster turned their attention to the away game in the Champions Cup was headed to Bristol on December 8th.

“Jordie only arrived on Wednesday. “So he took a hit and was out in the French game, so he seems to be fine,” Cullen said.

“We will try to get him fit through training first and have a few discussions about when he starts.”

“It is unusual for a player to come in the middle of the season. So we want to make sure we set him up as best as possible to help him succeed. We will continue this process in the near future.”

Cullen was a key contributor to Andy Farrell’s Irish squad during the four Tests in November and is looking forward to bringing back other key players too.

“We are lucky that these are guys who are at the top,” he added.

“We will be watching the game (Ireland v Australia on Saturday) with great interest to see how everyone gets on.”

“The international boys are coming back next week too but we will try to keep them fresh so they can fire in the new year.”