ANDY FARRELL HAS given the people what they want: uncapped players.
There’s always anticipation and speculation about which youngsters should be included in the next Ireland squad. And there’s always disappointment if fresh faces aren’t introduced.
Farrell’s 35-man squad for the trip to South Africa hits the mark with the uncapped Sam Prendergast, Cormac Izuchukwu, and Jamie Osborne included. These are three exciting talents.
21-year-old out-half Prendergast is a product of Cill Dara RFC and Newbridge College, who he helped into the Leinster Schools Senior Cup final in 2020 when he was still in fifth year only for Covid to force its cancellation. Newbridge had to settle for sharing the title with Clongowes. Prendergast didn’t get another shot as the 2021 competition was called off altogether but he was firmly on the radar.
He showed his potential to a wider audience with the Ireland U20s in 2022, leading them to a Grand Slam and a World Cup final in confident, skillful fashion.
Prendergast was in the Leinster sub-academy for the 2021/22 season, playing club rugby with Lansdowne. He moved into the full academy in the summer of 2022 and ended up only doing one season there before being promoted to the Leinster senior squad last year.
So this is still his first full season as a professional rugby player. Prendergast has played plenty of senior rugby compared to his peers from the Ireland U20s squad but he remains down the out-half pecking order in Leinster, with Ross Byrne, Harry Byrne, and Ciarán Frawley ahead of him this season.
That led to Connacht making an approach to bring Prendergast to Galway on loan next season but the talented playmaker will remain with Leinster and back himself to challenge for the number 10 shirt. It seems Prendergast has been encouraged by Leinster’s plans to give him more starts next season and 2024/25 looks like being a massive campaign for him.
Ireland boss Farrell sees him as a player who can make an impact at Test level and he’s not waiting around until Leinster promote Prendergast. The Kildare man was included as a development player ahead of the Six Nations this year and now Prendergast is included in the Ireland squad proper. The Byrne brothers miss out on selection as Prendergast joins first-choice 10 Jack Crowley and Frawley as the out-half options.
Prendergast is a mature young man. His kicking skills are strong, including delightful spirals and delicate chips, while he has a nice passing range and a sharp turn of pace. His defensive game is still a work in progress but his 6ft 4ins frame means he has scope to pack on more muscle and bring more punch in contact. As the likes of Crowley and Johnny Sexton have shown, it’s as much about mindset as anything in defence.
Given his top-end potential, there’s no doubt that Ireland hope Prendergast can be a genuine challenger to Crowley for the number 10 shirt in the coming years. For now, Frawley will be the favourite to provide out-half cover from the bench in the Tests against the Springboks.
This is a proud day for the Prendergast family given that Sam joins his older brother, 24-year-old Connacht back row Cian, in the senior Ireland squad. They recently played against each other and it looks like they’ll play with each other soon enough.
22-year-old centre Osborne has also been in the Ireland set-up before, linking up with Farrell’s squad as far back as 2021 as a development player when he was still 20.
That was the same year Johnny Sexton told Ireland boss Farrell to watch out for Osborne, who was showing his potential at Leinster training.
“This young guy, I’ve never seen a player with the feel for the game that he has,” Sexton told Farrell, adding that Leinster hadn’t had a back as talented since Garry Ringrose.
Naas man Osborne featured for Ireland A in the autumn of 2022 and was called up to the full 2023 Six Nations squad, earning high praise for his efforts in training.
He missed this year’s Six Nations with injury but he’s clearly a player Farrell rates highly. That’s no surprise given 6ft 4ins Osborne’s athleticism and classy skills. He’s versatile enough to play at fullback and on the wing but has shone in midfield for Leinster this season while Ringrose has been out injured.
With Ringrose now back fit and Farrell also calling on the experienced Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw, and Stuart McCloskey in midfield for this tour, there is plenty of quality ahead of Osborne in that spot.
With Mack Hansen and Hugo Keenan missing, there is perhaps more of an opening in the back three but Osborne has only started one game on the wing for Leinster this season. He comes across as a calm young man, though, and qualities like his powerful left-footed kicking game mean Farrell will cap him at some stage.
It’s worth mentioning that Osborne is a player who didn’t come through the schools rugby system, which provides so many of Ireland’s players. He was with Naas RFC the whole way through his youth and all the way into the All-Ireland League.
There is huge pride in his rise back home, as well as throughout the Leinster club system. Osborne’s younger brother, Andrew, is now part of the Leinster academy and his three other younger brothers – Jack, Adam and Will – play for Naas too, with hopes they can follow the trail blazed by Jamie.
24-year-old second row/blindside flanker Izuchukwu has proven to be a bolter in this Ireland squad. He has had a unique rise to this point.
Born in London to a Nigerian father and an Irish mother, Izuchukwu moved to Ireland his mum and two siblings when he was eight. His mother, Catriona, is related to Offaly hurling legends Joe, Johnny, and Billy Dooley.
Izuchukwu was a centre in his time at Roscrea College and though he was invited to a Connacht U19s trial, he got injured before it came around. Izuchukwu was never earmarked for an academy.
In the summer of 2018, he found himself back home working in a local bar and playing for Tullamore RFC. Pondering what to do with his life, he was struck by a plan to travel the world playing for small clubs that could sort him out with visas and jobs.
He initially thought of distant places like New Zealand but found out that a small called Kelso RFC in the Scottish Borders were looking for a second row. The fact that Izuchukwu had never played in the second row in his life didn’t deter him from getting in touch. He had stretched to 6ft 7ins in height, so he looked the part.
Soon after arriving penniless, Izuchukwu got a part-time job in Sainsbury’s alongside playing with Kelso. He was flying on the pitch and began compiling his best clips to send footage to professional clubs.
Newcastle Falcons invited him in for a closer look but Izuchukwu’s coach at Kelso, a New Zealander named Gary Stevens, had got in contact with the IRFU to let them know there was a potential Irish star playing in the second division of Scottish amateur rugby.
IRFU performance director David Nucifora saw the footage and called Izuchukwu to invite him to play for the Ireland 7s. So just five months after leaving for Scotland, the man they call ‘Izzy’ was back home.
He was picked for the Paris 7s on the World Series in 2019, the first time he had ever played a proper 7s game. It was fun but Izuchukwu wanted to play professional 15s.
He was in the wider Ireland U20s squad in 2020 but didn’t get a cap as the likes of Tom Ahern and Brian Deeny shone, but there was no way Irish rugby was letting this talent slip away a second time.
Ulster signed Izuchukwu to their academy in the summer of 2020 and while the learning curve has continued to be steep, he has been outstanding in recent months. His superb form has coincided with the arrival of Richie Murphy as the new head coach.
Murphy moved Izuchukuw to blindside flanker and backed him as a key ball-carrier, ensuring he has the ball in his hands as often as possible. With his set-piece skills continuing to improve, Izuchukwu is now a force to be reckoned with.
Ireland have been keeping a close eye on him. Farrell and his assistants picked Izuchuwku for the Emerging Ireland tour in 2022 when he featured in the second row and worked closely with Paul O’Connell. They’ve been waiting for this burst of form since and with Izuchukwu shining for Ulster in recent months, he has earned his call-up.
He can obviously still play second row, as can Leinster’s Ryan Baird, so Farrell only picked three out-and-out locks in his touring squad for South Africa.
It would be another huge step up for Izuchukwu to feature in one of the games against the Springboks but there’s no doubting that he has the explosive power to thrive in Test rugby.
Izuchukwu’s journey to this point shows that he tends to take things in his stride.
