Harry Byrne might just have provided Irish rugby with a compelling argument to facilitate loan deals based on his recent experience. The 25-year-old signed for the Bristol Bears on a three-month loan deal from his parent club Leinster following an inquiry from Pat Lam.
The Bristol head coach was looking for short-term cover following a knee injury sustained by Dublin-born American international AJ MacGinty, which is expected to keep him sidelined for three to four months, and a season-ending injury suffered by England international Max Malins.
Lam’s advocacy of the young outhalf is a fair appraisal. “Harry is a quality international player who is very experienced at domestic and European level, representing one of the top clubs in world rugby. His style of play is well suited to the Bears way, and I would like to thank Leo (Cullen) and Leinster for allowing Harry to join us.”
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Byrne, who has 72 Leinster appearances since making his debut nearly six years ago, and four Ireland caps, has been unfortunate with injury over the years, and since Johnny Sexton’s departure has been fighting for game time in the provincial 10 shirt with older brother Ross – he has reportedly signed a three-year deal with Gloucester to where he will move next season – Sam Prendergast and Ciarán Frawley. Charlie Tector has been rehomed, very successfully to his immense credit, at inside centre.
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This season Harry Byrne had managed 48 minutes for Leinster across four matches, all off the bench: 18 minutes against the Dragons (September 27th), four against Munster (October 12th), eight against Ulster (November 29th) and 18 against Connacht (December 21st) before crossing the Irish Sea over the new year. Leinster played 11 matches between the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Champions Cup prior to Christmas.
He played his first game for Bristol, a Gallagher Premiership match against Saracens at the StoneX stadium on January 4th. Byrne came on after 44 minutes and kicked two conversions in a 35-26 defeat and on January 12th made his home debut for the Bears in a 35-29 Champions Cup victory over Benetton at Ashton Gate, kicking five conversions.
In the space of that eight-day period Byrne racked up more minutes (36+60) than he had managed from season’s start to Christmas, roughly 3½ months, with Leinster; not including A matches for the province.
The outhalf started against Clermont Auvergne in France the following week and bar a 10-minute sabbatical in the sin bin completed the full match, kicking three conversions. Byrne played his fourth game in succession in the month of January in a 55-35 win over the Newcastle Falcons, where he kicked four conversions and a penalty in 71 minutes.
He played 33 minutes against Ampthill in the Prem Cup before picking up an injury, missed the Bedford Blues match, but returned last weekend to lead the Bears to victory over west country rivals Bath. Byrne played 80 minutes, scored a try and kicked two conversions and a brilliant 50/22, while also showing some brilliant touches in attack.
He has played six of the seven matches for which he has been eligible while at Bristol for a total of 350 minutes, at an average of 58 per game.
Byrne will wear the 10 jersey for Ireland in Sunday’s A international against England, coincidentally at Ashton Gate. He has benefited significantly from his short-term move to Bristol, is playing some excellent rugby, and offering a reminder of the talent that saw him make two appearances off the bench for Ireland in last season’s Six Nations Championship.
There is no downside to this decision, for the player, for Leinster and for Bristol. He’s got consistent game time, something that would not have been available to him had he remained at Leinster. Byrne has proven that he is robust enough to play week in, week out, and to do so at an elite standard both in English and European competition.
For those who fear that Bristol might be tempted to kidnap Byrne, the English club has signed Scotland international Tom Jordan from Glasgow for next season to challenge MacGinty and academy prospect Sam Worsley.
The likelihood is that Harry Byrne will return to Leinster, and with brother Ross heading for Gloucester in the summer his time at Bristol will leave him better equipped to challenge Prendergast, Frawley et al for the 10 jersey at the Irish province.
If that proves to be the case then perhaps other players stuck in a logjam might pursue short-term solutions that benefit themselves and their club.
