ROUND ONE OF a new URC campaign brings with it the opening week of another season of the Leinster out-half debate. Going into 2024/25, the contenders include brother Ross and Harry Byrne, Ciarán Frawley and Sam Prendergast. It’s anyone’s guess as to how it all plays out, but tonight’s opening round trip to face Edinburgh [KO 7:35pm, TG4/Premier Sports] places Prendergast in the driving seat.
It’s the first stop on what is shaping up to be a massive season for the 21-year-old, who had to wait until round four last year for his first start at 10 – adding a further three starts across the course of the campaign.
After tonight’s game Prendergast will link up with the Emerging Ireland squad for their upcoming tour to South Africa, where he will be tasked with leading the squad through their match weeks while working closely again with the Ireland coaches. It’s a natural step for a player who travelled with the Ireland senior squad on their summer tour to South Africa and looks well placed to win a first Test cap in November.
Yet while his path to international rugby is opening up before him, the picture at provincial level is less clear. While Prendergast gets the nod at 10 tonight, it could well be that Leo Cullen is simply happy to hold Ross Byrne in reserve given Prendergast will be gone for rounds two through four.
By the time Prendergast returns, Byrne – who starts on the bench at the Hive – could well have settled back into his familiar role as first-choice out-half, but the competition remains fierce. Younger brother Harry is coming off his strongest season yet while Frawley was the star of Ireland’s South Africa trip with his game-winning exploits in the second Test. The 26-year-old looks ready to lead his province at 10 but we don’t yet know if Cullen has changed his stance on where Frawley is best deployed. Of his 13 starts in blue last season, just two came at out-half.
It will be fascinating to watch how it all unfolds again but for now, Prendergast is handed the ideal start. Deliver a strong performance at the Hive, and he’ll be set up nicely to drive into a potentially career-changing couple of months.
His early season audition should be strengthened by a strong support cast. The energetic presence of Jamison Gibson-Park at nine is a welcome boost after the scrum-half missed Ireland’s South Africa tour through injury. With seasoned internationals such as Jack Conan, James Ryan and Garry Ringrose also involved, there’s a nice blend of youth and experience.
Conor O’Tighearnaigh gets a valuable run-out alongside Ryan in the second row before heading off with Emerging Ireland, while academy hooker Gus McCarthy, another young prospect who is South Africa-bound, makes his first start after a promising pre-season. With Dan Sheehan recovering from his ACL injury, the battle between the young hookers behind Rónan Kelleher will be an area to watch.
Having been on the road in the playoffs last season, Cullen is conscious that every point counts but his team face a testing opening here.
Edinburgh disappointed in the URC last season, finishing 10th, but have the tools to make this a difficult night for their visitors. Scotland internationals Duhan van der Merwe, Ali Price, Grant Gilchrist and Jamie Ritchie all start, while winger Darcy Graham returns from injury to make his first competitive appearance in eight months.
“I think it’s a great challenge for especially the younger kind of cohort of lads to go into a difficult environment away with a close crowd, it feels like they’re on the pitch,” says Leinster captain Jack Conan.
“When you’re playing on the astro, it’s a quick style of rugby they [Edinburgh] like to play a lot. The weekend just gone, they played against Gloucester and had a lot of internationals playing, so it’s going to be a massive step up from what we’ve done in the last few weeks.
“They’re not a South African-size pack, but they’ve got some big lumps, a good size back row… Jamie Richie might not be the biggest man but he’s a great athlete and he’s a nuisance in the breakdown, and they’ve got a very dynamic front row as well.
“We know that they’re a pretty well-drilled pack and they’ll be good, and after getting a run out last week they’ll be well-oiled, so it’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
EDINBURGH: Wes Goosen; Darcy Graham, Mosese Tuipulotu, Matt Currie, Duhan van der Merwe; Ross Thompson, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, Dave Cherry, Paul Hill; Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist (capt); Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Ben Muncaster.
Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Boan Venter, D’arcy Rae, Jamie Hodgson, Magnus Bradbury, Ben Vellacott, Ben Healy, Emiliano Boffelli.
LEINSTER: Jamie Osborne; Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Charlie Tector, Jordan Larmour; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Michael Milne, Gus McCarthy, Thomas Clarkson; Conor O’Tighearnaigh, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Jack Conan (capt).
Replacements: John McKee, Cian Healy, Rabah Slimani, Brian Deeny, James Culhane, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Rob Russell.
Referee: Andrea Piardi [FIR]
