IRELAND SAY THEY remain “optimistic” that out-half Sam Prendergast will be available for selection for Friday night’s Nations Championship clash with Argentina in Dublin.
The 23-year-old playmaker suffered a wrist injury in Leinster training last week and has been working closely with Ireland’s medical team since they came into camp last Sunday.
Prendergast has resumed training with Andy Farrell’s side in recent days, with an IRFU update saying the coaching staff are “optimistic” about him featuring, but it remains to be seen if he recovers to play against the Pumas.
Connacht’s Ciarán Frawley is in line to start at out-half if Prendergast is not ready, while Ulster’s uncapped Jamie Benson provides another option at number 10.
“He’s been tracking well, and he’s been jumping in and out of bits of training, non-contact bits, pretty close to full-contact bits, and he’s been very confident and comfortable doing it,” said Ireland assistant coach Paul O’Connell of Prendergast on Sunday morning.
“So, I’m not 100% sure, but he looks like he could be OK.”
The IRFU says that over 48,400 tickets have been sold for the visit of Argentina to the Aviva Stadium, which is short of the 51,700 capacity of the ground.
The remaining tickets are available from €136.60 each, and the IRFU hopes that they will be sold as anticipation for the game continues to build.
While there is still doubt over Prendergast, Ireland are otherwise enjoying a clean bill of health ahead of the Argentina game.
Leinster back Jimmy O’Brien has recovered from his head injury to return to full training, meaning Farrell and co. have a strong hand to choose from.
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“We’ve had very few players on the sideline,” said O’Connell.
“They’ve all been training quite hard and training quite fast, and it’s been quite physical as well. So it has been good to keep the injury count down.
“I heard [All Blacks selector] Graham Henry speaking about picking up a few injuries in training when they’ve moved to the physical side of the game. So, we’ve been lucky in that regard, and hopefully it continues.
Paul O'Connell at Ireland camp. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s great because it allows you to really embed what you want to stand for. It’s really on the pitch that guys learn. They can get it and understand it and know exactly what we want to do. They need to do it when they’re fatigued and under a bit of pressure as well, so training has been good.”
Ireland have put a major focus on their physical conditioning coming into this 2026/27 campaign, with head coach Farrell having felt there was real room for improvement at the end of last season.
Ireland’s fitness was mentioned by assistant coach Johnny Sexton last week, with O’Connell reiterating the importance of the players being in peak condition.
“It’s always a point of difference for every team,” said O’Connell. “And it’s the same as anyone else – if you want to be able to think quickly, you can’t be at the end of your fitness.
“So we want to be able to think quickly and move quickly, and we want to be able to do that relentlessly, not just sometimes. We want to be able to do it all the time.
“So yeah, it was a little reminder. It’s really important how the lads train when they’re back with their provinces, in terms of how they show their character back in their provinces and how they perform, but also week-to-week, how fast they’re running, how quick they’re moving, how much they’re concentrating on that when they’re training, and also then when they’re playing, so that when they come in here we can hit the ground running.
“We’re into a Friday game here again, so we’ve less preparation time than we have had in the past.
“We get the players, we’re training, then we’re playing a game 12 days later, so it’s really important that they’re not coming in here trying to get fit, that they’re training fast, consciously trying to train fast when they’re in their provinces as well.”
Ireland are expecting a formidable challenge from Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina on Friday.
The Pumas have had a poor 2026 so far, meaning they’ll be determined to begin setting things right in Dublin.
Ireland last faced Argentina in Dublin in 2024. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
“I think Argentina have an all-court game, which you have to have when you’re playing in the competition [the Rugby Championship] they are down there,” said O’Connell.
“I know they didn’t have as many fixtures this year, given the New Zealand-South Africa Test series, but they’re playing South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. That’s the competition they’re in.
“They’re in that world where it’s very physical in terms of attack, defence, a big set-piece challenge at the scrum from all those teams. Kicking game is really important down there as well.
“You can see they’ve done a massive amount of work on that in terms of their ability to retrieve kicks on both sides, whether they’re kicking them or whether they’re receiving kicks.
“They obviously play very fast as well. Felipe would be a fan of that style. You kind of get an all-court game against them. Some phenomenal athletes, with great feet. A nice mixture of styles, given that a lot of their players play in different clubs around the place.
“It’s an all-court game that you have to be really well-prepared for.”
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48,400 tickets sold as Ireland remain 'optimistic' on Prendergast
IRELAND SAY THEY remain “optimistic” that out-half Sam Prendergast will be available for selection for Friday night’s Nations Championship clash with Argentina in Dublin.
The 23-year-old playmaker suffered a wrist injury in Leinster training last week and has been working closely with Ireland’s medical team since they came into camp last Sunday.
Prendergast has resumed training with Andy Farrell’s side in recent days, with an IRFU update saying the coaching staff are “optimistic” about him featuring, but it remains to be seen if he recovers to play against the Pumas.
Connacht’s Ciarán Frawley is in line to start at out-half if Prendergast is not ready, while Ulster’s uncapped Jamie Benson provides another option at number 10.
“He’s been tracking well, and he’s been jumping in and out of bits of training, non-contact bits, pretty close to full-contact bits, and he’s been very confident and comfortable doing it,” said Ireland assistant coach Paul O’Connell of Prendergast on Sunday morning.
“So, I’m not 100% sure, but he looks like he could be OK.”
The IRFU says that over 48,400 tickets have been sold for the visit of Argentina to the Aviva Stadium, which is short of the 51,700 capacity of the ground.
The remaining tickets are available from €136.60 each, and the IRFU hopes that they will be sold as anticipation for the game continues to build.
While there is still doubt over Prendergast, Ireland are otherwise enjoying a clean bill of health ahead of the Argentina game.
Leinster back Jimmy O’Brien has recovered from his head injury to return to full training, meaning Farrell and co. have a strong hand to choose from.
“We’ve had very few players on the sideline,” said O’Connell.
“They’ve all been training quite hard and training quite fast, and it’s been quite physical as well. So it has been good to keep the injury count down.
“I heard [All Blacks selector] Graham Henry speaking about picking up a few injuries in training when they’ve moved to the physical side of the game. So, we’ve been lucky in that regard, and hopefully it continues.
“It’s great because it allows you to really embed what you want to stand for. It’s really on the pitch that guys learn. They can get it and understand it and know exactly what we want to do. They need to do it when they’re fatigued and under a bit of pressure as well, so training has been good.”
Ireland have put a major focus on their physical conditioning coming into this 2026/27 campaign, with head coach Farrell having felt there was real room for improvement at the end of last season.
Ireland’s fitness was mentioned by assistant coach Johnny Sexton last week, with O’Connell reiterating the importance of the players being in peak condition.
“It’s always a point of difference for every team,” said O’Connell. “And it’s the same as anyone else – if you want to be able to think quickly, you can’t be at the end of your fitness.
“So we want to be able to think quickly and move quickly, and we want to be able to do that relentlessly, not just sometimes. We want to be able to do it all the time.
“So yeah, it was a little reminder. It’s really important how the lads train when they’re back with their provinces, in terms of how they show their character back in their provinces and how they perform, but also week-to-week, how fast they’re running, how quick they’re moving, how much they’re concentrating on that when they’re training, and also then when they’re playing, so that when they come in here we can hit the ground running.
“We’re into a Friday game here again, so we’ve less preparation time than we have had in the past.
“We get the players, we’re training, then we’re playing a game 12 days later, so it’s really important that they’re not coming in here trying to get fit, that they’re training fast, consciously trying to train fast when they’re in their provinces as well.”
Ireland are expecting a formidable challenge from Felipe Contepomi’s Argentina on Friday.
The Pumas have had a poor 2026 so far, meaning they’ll be determined to begin setting things right in Dublin.
“I think Argentina have an all-court game, which you have to have when you’re playing in the competition [the Rugby Championship] they are down there,” said O’Connell.
“I know they didn’t have as many fixtures this year, given the New Zealand-South Africa Test series, but they’re playing South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. That’s the competition they’re in.
“They’re in that world where it’s very physical in terms of attack, defence, a big set-piece challenge at the scrum from all those teams. Kicking game is really important down there as well.
“You can see they’ve done a massive amount of work on that in terms of their ability to retrieve kicks on both sides, whether they’re kicking them or whether they’re receiving kicks.
“They obviously play very fast as well. Felipe would be a fan of that style. You kind of get an all-court game against them. Some phenomenal athletes, with great feet. A nice mixture of styles, given that a lot of their players play in different clubs around the place.
“It’s an all-court game that you have to be really well-prepared for.”
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Argentina Fitness Ireland Pumas Sam Prendergast