AS DAMIAN PENAUD streaked under the Irish posts for France’s fifth try, Sam Prendergast already had his head in his hands.

The Irish out-half had chased back as hard as he could but the damage had already been done when Thomas Ramos picked off Prendergast’s pass under the French posts before feeding the speed of Penaud.

It was one of a few moments that Ireland’s 22-year-old playmaker would have loved to get back in the heavy defeat to France.

As ever, Prendergast had some excellent moments too. He nailed a difficult touchline conversion to nudge Ireland 13-8 ahead early in the second half, while there were some highlights with his passing and kicking from hand.

It was the Kildare man’s first experience in a game of that magnitude, with the Grand Slam and Six Nations title on the line. So there’s no doubt Prendergast will have learned lots from being involved in such a contest, as well as from the errors he made.

“Sam’s honest, when he’s looking through his game he’s got a very critical eye on the things he could have done better,” said Ireland assistant coach Andrew Goodman yesterday.

“So there’s a little bit around in the 22, how he could have managed that area of the field, but it wasn’t just him. He needs communication from his backs outside him.

“We need to be a bit more dominant with our carries and footwork at the line. So he’s aware of some of the stuff he could have done better. I thought he still created some opportunities for us with his decision-making and passing at the line, but some areas that he’ll need to work on this week to get better.”

Goodman is in no doubt that Prendergast won’t get hung up on one of his passes being intercepted for a French score.

Sam Prendergast after the defeat to France. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

He got the decision wrong in that instance but Prendergast has shown that he’s willing to throw passes that others might shy away from. Goodman doesn’t see that ever going away.

“I think we’ve seen through the Six Nations, he’s someone that can move past mistakes pretty quickly and move onto the next task,” he said. “It’s one of the great things about him.

“So he was disappointed in the pass selection there but at the same time, we’ve got to give credit to Ramos for the read that he made.

“Look, the decision-making process around it, what he could have done better, he’s very critical on his own game and he would have looked at how he could have scanned earlier etc., to make the right decision next time.”

With Prendergast having started all four games in this Six Nations so far, Jack Crowley will be hoping that his starting chance at number 10 comes this weekend in Ireland’s final clash with Italy.

Crowley made a good impact off the bench at out-half in the opening game against England before he was sent on at fullback in the wins over Scotland and Wales.

Last weekend, Crowley came off the bench at inside centre, replacing Bundee Aki after 56 minutes and making a positive impression. Goodman said that there hadn’t been an injury for Aki, rather than sending Crowley on at inside centre was a tactical decision.

It was the third time Ireland had Prendergast and Crowley on the pitch at the same time in this championship but their first lengthy stint together. And they worked well in tandem even if the game had already started to get away from Ireland.

“They started taking space a little bit better,” said Goodman. “We were seeing the space and we were getting the ball to space effectively and that’s what you want to do.”

But there’s no doubt that Crowley is at his best when he’s playing out-half.

Jack Crowley gives the scoring pass for Jack Conan's try. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

So there’s no doubt it has been a frustrating few weeks for him personally, even if he has continued to bring positive energy to the group.

Crowley was Ireland’s starting out-half for last year’s Six Nations triumph and started both Tests in South Africa last summer. He’d have planned to kick on from there but Prendergast has been preferred recently.

Munster man Crowley is believed to be on a PONI [player of national interest] contract with his province and the IRFU that expires at the end of this season. A PONI deal sees a player’s provincial contract being topped up by the IRFU to make it stronger financially.

Although Crowley has attracted interest from abroad, as any player of his quality should, it’s thought that Munster and the IRFU are confident Crowley will remain at home.

For now, Crowley will hope for a chance to show his qualities at out-half against Italy, even if Goodman insisted that the 25-year-old has been getting opportunities to impress in training.

“He’s been a great, Jack,” said Goodman.

“I suppose you guys are seeing him at 12 and 15, but you’ve got to think about the reps they get in during the week as well. He’s running a lot at 10 for opposition and for our team as well, so he’s getting reps.

“I know it’s not the game day reps that he’d be liking all the time, but he’s going out and training like he’s playing and getting good reps, maybe, through his training.

“But he’s made positive impacts in those positions when he’s come on and he’s got obviously a great chance when he goes back to his province in the next weeks with some big games as well to get some regular game time at 10.”