Luke McGrath says Leinster team-mate Ross Byrne 'on cloud nine' after Ireland heroics

Luke McGrath says half-back partner Ross Byrne has been on cloud nine in Leinster training after his match-winning exploits with Ireland.

A week after coming off the bench to kick the winning penalty for Ireland against Australia, Byrne returns to provincial duty on Saturday as Leinster tackle Glasgow Warriors, live on RTÉ1 and RTÉ Player.

Byrne was a late inclusion to the Ireland match-day squad after Johnny Sexton pulled up in the warm-up, and having been introduced with nine minutes remaining for his first international appearance in 20 months, he showed nerves of steel to slot a difficult penalty and ensure Ireland made it three wins from three this autumn.

"He's on cloud nine, as he should be," said McGrath, who resumes his partnership with Byrne against Glasgow.

"I was delighted for him. He was obviously called in earlier in the week but to come into the game the way he did, not knowing if he was going to be playing, and then the pressure kick… It was never in doubt really, he might say that!

"It was a brilliant kick and I’m absolutely delighted for him. It’s well deserved as well."

McGrath and Byrne were the half-back combination when Leinster thumped the Scarlets last month to register a seventh successive BKT United Rugby Championship victory.

It has been an impressive start by Leo Cullen’s side but McGrath admits it can sometimes be difficult to find rhythm after a four-week break, as last season showed.

"We’ve gotten caught out of a couple of times. Last year we lost to Ulster after having a couple of weeks out," said McGrath.

"You maybe lose your rhythm a little bit but we’ve tried to keep standards as high as possible for the last couple of weeks in training. We’ve pushed either other hard. Hopefully we can show that