SAM PRENDERGAST LINES up a kick from the left-hand touchline on the perfect surface at Eden Park, with Johnny Sexton standing close by watching the Ireland out-half at work.
With the winter sun hanging over Auckland, 23-year-old Prendergast bisects the posts.
This is only Ireland’s captain’s run and the challenge for number 10 is to do it when the 46,500-capacity stadium is full to the brim on Saturday night.
Prendergast came off the bench against the All Blacks in Chicago last year, so this will be his first Test start against the Kiwis.
He had a good game against Australia two weekends ago, carrying his strong end-of-season form with Leinster back into the green jersey, with Jack Crowley missing out on this Nations Championship trip due to injury.
Ciarán Frawley got a shot at out-half against Japan last weekend but Prendergast returns for the big one. And he has the full backing of his team.
“Sam is unbelievable, how mentally strong he is off the back of a lot of attention and criticism,” said Ireland captain Dan Sheehan, who alluded to Sexton when speaking about Prendergast.
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“His preparation every week, he leads meetings, he chirps up for a young 10, he runs training sessions, he barks at people, reminds me of someone else in a lot of ways, and we all have Sam’s back 100%.
“And Sam has his own back, which is the main thing. So Sam will be perfectly fine.”
Opposite Prendergast is a new face in the New Zealand team, with Hurricanes out-half Ruben Love having taken over as their number 10 under head coach Dave Rennie.
He has been in exciting form all year, but Sheehan said Ireland can’t get too worried about trying to contain or target Love.
“Obviously we need to get after a lot of people; there’s a long list of All Blacks that we need to get after,” said Sheehan.
“I think if we put our sole focus on Ruben, someone else will show up, so they’ve got a wide variety of talents there, so I think we need to stick together and make sure we’ve got all bases covered, rather than targeting individuals.
Ireland's captain's run on Friday. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Prendergast isn’t the only man in this Irish team playing at Eden Park or indeed in New Zealand for the first time.
Sheehan is one of the group who were here in 2022, when they lost in Auckland but recovered to claim Ireland’s first-ever series success on New Zealand soil.
“It’s such an iconic venue in world rugby, and for us to have the opportunity to play here, it doesn’t come around very often,” said Sheehan.
“Obviously I’ve been lucky enough to play here, but it didn’t go our way the last time. I think lads are very excited to play, especially to have the opportunity to play in Eden Park. You never know if you’ll get another chance. “
Sheehan said Ireland haven’t yet discussed whether they will do anything special when they face the haka. He’s just keen to enjoy the experience.
And he’s looking forward to catching up with a couple of familiar faces after the game, with Jordie Barrett starting at inside centre for New Zealand, and his fellow ex-Leinster man Rieko Ioane in the wider Kiwi squad this week.
“Hopefully Rieko’s in an Irish jersey,” said Sheehan with a smile.
“But yeah, obviously those lads have given us a lot. Hopefully they’ve enjoyed their time. I think they have, but it’ll be great to see the lads, especially Jordie. We haven’t seen him in a while.
“Two top blokes who we’ve really enjoyed coming over the last two years. It’s been a privilege for us to see the way they work, and how they operate.”
That will come after Saturday night’s showdown. For now, the battle lines have been drawn.
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'Sam is unbelievable, how mentally strong he is. He barks at people'
SAM PRENDERGAST LINES up a kick from the left-hand touchline on the perfect surface at Eden Park, with Johnny Sexton standing close by watching the Ireland out-half at work.
With the winter sun hanging over Auckland, 23-year-old Prendergast bisects the posts.
This is only Ireland’s captain’s run and the challenge for number 10 is to do it when the 46,500-capacity stadium is full to the brim on Saturday night.
Prendergast came off the bench against the All Blacks in Chicago last year, so this will be his first Test start against the Kiwis.
He had a good game against Australia two weekends ago, carrying his strong end-of-season form with Leinster back into the green jersey, with Jack Crowley missing out on this Nations Championship trip due to injury.
Ciarán Frawley got a shot at out-half against Japan last weekend but Prendergast returns for the big one. And he has the full backing of his team.
“Sam is unbelievable, how mentally strong he is off the back of a lot of attention and criticism,” said Ireland captain Dan Sheehan, who alluded to Sexton when speaking about Prendergast.
“His preparation every week, he leads meetings, he chirps up for a young 10, he runs training sessions, he barks at people, reminds me of someone else in a lot of ways, and we all have Sam’s back 100%.
“And Sam has his own back, which is the main thing. So Sam will be perfectly fine.”
Opposite Prendergast is a new face in the New Zealand team, with Hurricanes out-half Ruben Love having taken over as their number 10 under head coach Dave Rennie.
He has been in exciting form all year, but Sheehan said Ireland can’t get too worried about trying to contain or target Love.
“Obviously we need to get after a lot of people; there’s a long list of All Blacks that we need to get after,” said Sheehan.
“I think if we put our sole focus on Ruben, someone else will show up, so they’ve got a wide variety of talents there, so I think we need to stick together and make sure we’ve got all bases covered, rather than targeting individuals.
Prendergast isn’t the only man in this Irish team playing at Eden Park or indeed in New Zealand for the first time.
Sheehan is one of the group who were here in 2022, when they lost in Auckland but recovered to claim Ireland’s first-ever series success on New Zealand soil.
“It’s such an iconic venue in world rugby, and for us to have the opportunity to play here, it doesn’t come around very often,” said Sheehan.
“Obviously I’ve been lucky enough to play here, but it didn’t go our way the last time. I think lads are very excited to play, especially to have the opportunity to play in Eden Park. You never know if you’ll get another chance. “
Sheehan said Ireland haven’t yet discussed whether they will do anything special when they face the haka. He’s just keen to enjoy the experience.
And he’s looking forward to catching up with a couple of familiar faces after the game, with Jordie Barrett starting at inside centre for New Zealand, and his fellow ex-Leinster man Rieko Ioane in the wider Kiwi squad this week.
“Hopefully Rieko’s in an Irish jersey,” said Sheehan with a smile.
“But yeah, obviously those lads have given us a lot. Hopefully they’ve enjoyed their time. I think they have, but it’ll be great to see the lads, especially Jordie. We haven’t seen him in a while.
“Two top blokes who we’ve really enjoyed coming over the last two years. It’s been a privilege for us to see the way they work, and how they operate.”
That will come after Saturday night’s showdown. For now, the battle lines have been drawn.
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All Blacks Ireland New Zealand Number 10 playmaker Sam Prendergast