Joe McCarthy has heaped praise on Leinster team-mate Jerry Cahir after the Investec Champions Cup debutant's shift in the nail-biting win over La Rochelle on Saturday.
Prop Cahir replaced international Paddy McCarthy on 42 minutes at Aviva Stadium after the latter sustained what the province has since described as a "serious foot injury".
The 25-year-old acquitted himself well against La Rochelle's impressive tight side and his involvement marks a meteoric recent rise.
As outlined by Leinster head coach Leo Cullen in the aftermath, Cahir recently signed a short-term contract with the province. That came after impressing for Lansdowne in the Energia All-Ireland League.
But amid a front row injury crisis, the player has quickly found himself thrust into the white heat of European action.
And while outside observers are getting to know Cahir, his impact was not unexpected internally according to Leinster and Ireland second row Joe McCarthy.
"Jerry has been awesome. I played with him in Trinity and he's such a hard-working guy," he told RTÉ Sport.
"He's probably had to wait such a long time to get his opportunity. (He) wasn't really in an academy system or anything like that.
"It's so cool to see him step up, scrummaging against (Uini) Atonio and (Will) Skelton, more than holding his own.
"We all know how good he is and I think lads love having him in the squad.
"He works so hard, really humble guy and I think he's added a lot to the group since he's come in and the lads have really enjoyed having him there. I'm delighted for him, it's a great day for him."
The 25-24 victory over La Rochelle was decided late on via Harry Byrne's last gasp penalty and McCarthy was particularly pleased that his colleague got his moment in the sun.
"It was brilliant, it was so good," he said.
"I think everyone felt confident in him standing over the kick and just serious balls just to knock it over. It was a great moment for him and the team."
One area that Leinster are aiming to iron out though is discipline. Tommy O'Brien and McCarthy were both yellow carded in the first half, disrupting the team's momentum.
"We started really fast in the game, scored two tries and then you probably let them back into it, maybe a few penalties," he said.
"I know myself, I got carded. So maybe that might come from the pressure La Rochelle are putting on you that you're probably scrambling a bit.
"It's probably something you need to look at, especially when you go up two scores, you might get sloppy in that area.
"So you're always trying to keep your penalties as low as possible, especially against a team like La Rochelle, because those penalties in the middle of the pitch, they give them '22 entries and they have a strong maul and scrum.
"So you're trying to limit as many opportunities as you can for them in your '22."
