WHEN THE SEASON-long loan offer from Connacht was on the table a few months ago, Sam Prendergast had to give it serious consideration.
In the end, he backed himself to be Leinster’s first-choice out-half sooner rather than later.
We don’t know exactly what Leinster boss Leo Cullen was telling Prendergast at that time about the 21-year-old’s place in the pecking order at his native province, but you’d have to imagine there were assurances.
The fact that Prendergast is self-assured played into his decision too. By opting against heading west for a year of first-team chances with Connacht, Prendergast was showing confidence that he could rise rapidly with Leinster.
The Kildare man has made two starts for Cullen’s side this season in the two games that he was truly available for.
Prendergast was at number 10 for the season-opening win against Edinburgh before he switched into Emerging Ireland mode, preparing himself to start three games in the space of a week in South Africa, a workload that helped prepare him for November with the senior Ireland side.
Despite being back on home soil after the Emerging Ireland tour, Prendergast wasn’t immediately pressed into action for Leinster’s inter-pro against Connacht in October, allowing him to recover fully, and instead made his return in blue for the win over the Lions at the end of that month.
All of this action helped to prepare Prendergast for what proved to be the biggest month of his career so far in November, with his Ireland debut coming off the bench against Argentina before he started the wins over Fiji and Australia.
There were some errors that would be expected from any novice out-half at the top level but Prendergast demonstrated more of the rich promise that was obvious through his school days in Newbridge College, with the Ireland U20s, and in the Leinster academy.
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Sam Prendergast and Ciarán Frawley. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Things have happened fast for Prendergast in the past two seasons. Hooker Gus McCarthy is the only player from the 2023 Ireland U20s side who has anywhere close to the senior professional experience that Prendergast has already amassed.
There is a perception that he is lacking in exposure but Prendergast is far ahead of his Irish peers.
That’s not to say he doesn’t have a huge amount to learn. The talent is clear but nothing beats the nous that comes with greater experience, especially in such a key decision-making position.
And for an out-half, nothing beats being the starter because that means being the boss in a tactical sense. In most clubs, the out-half acts as the leader of the week, the play caller, and the on-pitch orchestrator of the coaches’ game plan.
Prendergast has yet to start a Champions Cup game or a URC knock-out match, fixtures that are seen as involving an elevated level of pressure even if that’s not always the reality. Still, starting to amass those starts will be a big aim this season.
It remains to be seen if Leinster back him this Sunday away to Bristol in their Champions Cup pool opener.
Prendergast will surely want to keep his momentum rolling. But there would also be sense in giving Ciarán Frawley or Ross Byrne – who hasn’t been away on Ireland duty and started against Ulster last weekend – the start for this visit to Pat Lam’s in-form Bears before Prendergast possibly starts the Clemont game six days later back in Dublin.
Prendergast has just featured in back-to-back-to-back Tests for the first time in his life, with plenty of mental and physical tax involved. Sometimes, there’s value in a brief chance to breathe, as was the case when he returned from the Emerging Ireland tour.
Players just want to play, of course, and Prendergast will be keen for every single opportunity to stamp his authority all over this Leinster team. All the more so given the strong competition at out-half.
29-year-old Byrne took over after the retirement of Johnny Sexton, having been his understudy for many years. He has been close to leading Leinster to two Champions Cup titles, starting at out-half against La Rochelle and Toulouse in the two most recent deciders.
Ross Byrne and Harry Byrne. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Leinster value what Byrne brings with his high-quality kicking, organisational qualities, and understanding of the game. He is out of contract at the end of this season and has attracted interest from abroad, so the next few months could be decisive for his future.
27-year-old Frawley hadn’t featured at out-half for Leinster much at all over the past four seasons but made strong impacts there off the bench last season, especially against Munster in the URC and also in the Champions Cup final against Toulouse when he was close to landing the game-winning drop goal in the last minute of regular time.
Having featured lots at fullback and inside centre in the past, Frawley stressed that he wanted to play at out-half more this season and Leinster obliged by giving him three consecutive starts at number 10 in October.
Prendergast was away at that stage but Frawley was preferred to Ross Byrne and his younger brother, Harry, who featured heavily at out-half for Leinster last season but hasn’t had much of a look-in so far in the current campaign.
25-year-old Harry has had just 32 minutes of game time in the opening seven rounds of the URC, all of them off the bench. Last season, he played a total of 796 minutes as he made nine starts in the URC and two in the Champions Cup.
Byrne also made two appearances for Ireland in their victorious 2024 Six Nations campaign, making it the best season of his career even if it tailed off.
But with Prendergast rising and Frawley showing his quality as an out-half, the younger Byrne brother has dropped to fourth in the pecking order.
Given that Andy Farrell and his Ireland coaching staff are such big fans of Prendergast, they are presumably hoping that the 21-year-old is at the top of that Leinster pecking order. The ranking will become clearer in the coming months.
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Prendergast's next big job is making Leinster's 10 shirt his own
WHEN THE SEASON-long loan offer from Connacht was on the table a few months ago, Sam Prendergast had to give it serious consideration.
In the end, he backed himself to be Leinster’s first-choice out-half sooner rather than later.
We don’t know exactly what Leinster boss Leo Cullen was telling Prendergast at that time about the 21-year-old’s place in the pecking order at his native province, but you’d have to imagine there were assurances.
The fact that Prendergast is self-assured played into his decision too. By opting against heading west for a year of first-team chances with Connacht, Prendergast was showing confidence that he could rise rapidly with Leinster.
The Kildare man has made two starts for Cullen’s side this season in the two games that he was truly available for.
Prendergast was at number 10 for the season-opening win against Edinburgh before he switched into Emerging Ireland mode, preparing himself to start three games in the space of a week in South Africa, a workload that helped prepare him for November with the senior Ireland side.
Despite being back on home soil after the Emerging Ireland tour, Prendergast wasn’t immediately pressed into action for Leinster’s inter-pro against Connacht in October, allowing him to recover fully, and instead made his return in blue for the win over the Lions at the end of that month.
All of this action helped to prepare Prendergast for what proved to be the biggest month of his career so far in November, with his Ireland debut coming off the bench against Argentina before he started the wins over Fiji and Australia.
There were some errors that would be expected from any novice out-half at the top level but Prendergast demonstrated more of the rich promise that was obvious through his school days in Newbridge College, with the Ireland U20s, and in the Leinster academy.
Things have happened fast for Prendergast in the past two seasons. Hooker Gus McCarthy is the only player from the 2023 Ireland U20s side who has anywhere close to the senior professional experience that Prendergast has already amassed.
There is a perception that he is lacking in exposure but Prendergast is far ahead of his Irish peers.
That’s not to say he doesn’t have a huge amount to learn. The talent is clear but nothing beats the nous that comes with greater experience, especially in such a key decision-making position.
And for an out-half, nothing beats being the starter because that means being the boss in a tactical sense. In most clubs, the out-half acts as the leader of the week, the play caller, and the on-pitch orchestrator of the coaches’ game plan.
Prendergast has yet to start a Champions Cup game or a URC knock-out match, fixtures that are seen as involving an elevated level of pressure even if that’s not always the reality. Still, starting to amass those starts will be a big aim this season.
It remains to be seen if Leinster back him this Sunday away to Bristol in their Champions Cup pool opener.
Prendergast will surely want to keep his momentum rolling. But there would also be sense in giving Ciarán Frawley or Ross Byrne – who hasn’t been away on Ireland duty and started against Ulster last weekend – the start for this visit to Pat Lam’s in-form Bears before Prendergast possibly starts the Clemont game six days later back in Dublin.
Prendergast has just featured in back-to-back-to-back Tests for the first time in his life, with plenty of mental and physical tax involved. Sometimes, there’s value in a brief chance to breathe, as was the case when he returned from the Emerging Ireland tour.
Players just want to play, of course, and Prendergast will be keen for every single opportunity to stamp his authority all over this Leinster team. All the more so given the strong competition at out-half.
29-year-old Byrne took over after the retirement of Johnny Sexton, having been his understudy for many years. He has been close to leading Leinster to two Champions Cup titles, starting at out-half against La Rochelle and Toulouse in the two most recent deciders.
Leinster value what Byrne brings with his high-quality kicking, organisational qualities, and understanding of the game. He is out of contract at the end of this season and has attracted interest from abroad, so the next few months could be decisive for his future.
27-year-old Frawley hadn’t featured at out-half for Leinster much at all over the past four seasons but made strong impacts there off the bench last season, especially against Munster in the URC and also in the Champions Cup final against Toulouse when he was close to landing the game-winning drop goal in the last minute of regular time.
Having featured lots at fullback and inside centre in the past, Frawley stressed that he wanted to play at out-half more this season and Leinster obliged by giving him three consecutive starts at number 10 in October.
Prendergast was away at that stage but Frawley was preferred to Ross Byrne and his younger brother, Harry, who featured heavily at out-half for Leinster last season but hasn’t had much of a look-in so far in the current campaign.
25-year-old Harry has had just 32 minutes of game time in the opening seven rounds of the URC, all of them off the bench. Last season, he played a total of 796 minutes as he made nine starts in the URC and two in the Champions Cup.
Byrne also made two appearances for Ireland in their victorious 2024 Six Nations campaign, making it the best season of his career even if it tailed off.
But with Prendergast rising and Frawley showing his quality as an out-half, the younger Byrne brother has dropped to fourth in the pecking order.
Given that Andy Farrell and his Ireland coaching staff are such big fans of Prendergast, they are presumably hoping that the 21-year-old is at the top of that Leinster pecking order. The ranking will become clearer in the coming months.
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10 Competition Leinster out-half Sam Prendergast