Fionn Carr's decision to return to his native province from Connacht has provoked quite a bit of negative comment this season.

Much of it has been driven by Connacht no longer having access to their most potent attacking weapon of the previous three seasons, both in terms of try-scoring and creating opportunities for others, with his pace and ability to change direction at full tilt.

This has been compounded by the fact that Carr was not there when Connacht needed him most for their debut in the Heineken Cup and by their run of defeats, which stands at 11 on the bounce ahead of Sunday's Pro12 clash with Leinster at the Sportsground.

"I'm really happy with the way it's gone," said Carr, who picked up his third try of the season against Ulster last Monday. "I've played quite a few games, hopefully now I'll get a couple more opportunities and try to stake a claim for a place.

"I'm playing a similar game; obviously Joe (Schmidt) has had a different input with me.

"He's been very influential on my game, he's been very positive with me, I've learned a lot from him. So I feel I've improved as a player, if anything, coming here."

Carr's defensive attributes have come under greater scrutiny, such as his security under the high ball.

"I'm playing the exact same position so everything I've been doing is quite similar. I've just had to tweak little things in my game to keep me in the team," he added.