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Leinster injury worries as Contepomi heaps praise on Garry Ringrose

Leinster backs coach Felipe Contepomi has praised the impact and improvement of Garry Ringrose, a...



Rugby

Leinster injury worries as Contepomi heaps praise on Garry Ringrose


Leinster backs coach Felipe Contepomi has praised the impact and improvement of Garry Ringrose, after the 24-year-old scored a hat-trick of tries in Saturday's win over Benetton.

Leo Cullen's outfit were bonus-point 33-19 winners at the RDS in their opening Heineken Champions Cup outing of the new campaign, impressing in their five-try win.

Jordan Larmour and Josh Van Der Flier also performed well, with 21-year-old hooker Ronan Kelleher showing once more why there has been so much discussion around his performances in blue.

Head Coach Cullen does have some injury concerns to contend with ahead of this weekend's trip to France to play Lyon.

Tadhg Furlong is again a fitness doubt - the prop missed Saturday's win against Benetton with a back injury, and the province say he'll continue to be assessed during the week.

Meanwhile, centre Joe Tomane is also a doubt, with a hamstring injury

Number eight Caelan Doris is nursing a shoulder injury, while utility back Rory O'Loughlin also has a shoulder complaint.

Sean Cronin will be unavailable once again, with the hooker continuing his rehab from a neck injury.

Speaking at a press conference today at Leinster Rugby HQ in Belfield, Contepomi said Ringrose's hard work in training is paying off.

"He works hard, he's a perfectionist...since I came back last year he's been working really hard.

"He has a very good understanding of the game and he's very smart so he's always looking for that space. He's a strong runner, he's a good defender, and he's getting better and better.

"He's trying to see those opportunities and taking them. We've seen he can score going around you or going to those tight lines and just powering through over the last five metres.

"So he's a really intelligent guy that works really, really hard - especially off the ball. He's a very interesting player to have in the team."

Contepomi was reluctant to draw the obvious comparisons to players like Brian O'Driscoll, a former teammate of the Argentinian at Leinster.

"I don't like comparisons, especially they are [playing] in different times, different types of games.

"Brian [O'Driscoll] was a brilliant player, probably one of the best I've ever played with. And Garry is a great player, a brilliant player as well.

"He probably has some [attributes] of Brian, but it's not good to compare - I think Garry Ringrose is Garry Ringrose. He'll make his name for himself, you don't have to compare him with anyone."

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Benetton Brian O'Driscoll Felipe Contepomi Garry Ringrose Heineken Champions Cup Leinster Leinster Rugby Leo Cullen Lyon Rugby Rugby On Off The Ball