IT WAS A certainty that Sam Prendergast would get his Ireland debut this month but most commentators felt it might come in their third Test against Fiji.
Instead, the 21-year-old out-half is in line to get his first cap off the bench as Ireland host Argentina this Friday.
It has been clear for some time that Andy Farrell and his coaches are excited about Prendergast’s potential.
And why wouldn’t they be? Prendergast was an outstanding Ireland U20 international, leading that team to a Grand Slam and World Cup final in 2023.
The Leinster out-half trained with Farrell’s squad ahead of the Six Nations earlier this year, he was brought on tour to South Africa in July to keep learning, then he started all three of Emerging Ireland’s games in South Africa a couple of months ago – a clear indicator that he was being readied for this autumn window.
So even though Prendergast has yet to become a first-choice player for Leinster and has only played for his province 20 times, he’s set to become an Ireland international on Friday.
“He’s ready,” said Farrell this evening at Bective Rangers FC’s clubhouse in Dublin.
“For a young fella that’s not had much game time provincially, he’s obviously had more of late but in an ironic way, he’s probably been patient enough.
“Because in his own mind, he’d probably thought he’s been ready for quite some time because he’s that kind of kid, a confident kid.
“The experience that he’s got from being around the squad, he’s comfortable in his own skin.
“The reason for taking him on the Emerging tour was to make sure that he understood what it was to grab hold of his team and show that he is in charge.
“He showed that in abundance, we’ve seen the knock-on effect from that in the squad in the last couple of weeks.
“In his own mind, he’s ready. He’s a young kid that’s in a pressurised type position obviously. He’s going to make mistakes, but that’s the nature of anyone coming through.”
While Prendergast takes the latest step in his rise, Jack Crowley continues as Ireland’s starting out-half.
The Munster man will be among those looking to right the wrongs of last weekend’s defeat to New Zealand.
“Jack, along with quite a few of our players, would have been hoping for a better performance,” said Farrell.
“Some of them are lucky enough to get another chance to do that, others are coming in, and some of them played pretty well themselves, but there were too many people not right at their best last week and we’re hoping for everyone to improve, not just Jack.
“Obviously, the control of the game is something that Jack would be open and honest about of wanting to step up a little bit this weekend but we’ve certainly seen that in training this week.”
Ciarán Frawley is the out-half missing from the matchday 23 this week, having had a tough outing in his 23-minute appearance off the bench against the All Blacks. He will hope for another chance against Fiji or Australia in the coming weeks.
All three of Ireland’s out-halves continue to work with Johnny Sexton, who has joined the group as a part-time coach/mentor.
Farrell is pleased with Sexton’s work with the number 10s so far.
“I’ve seen his influence, certainly with the kickers,” he said. “They’ve certainly come on in the last couple of weeks by a bit of routine, support, mentoring. That’s not just for the kickers, that’s across the board.”
Farrell has made just one change to his starting XV this week as Robbie Henshaw comes in for Bundee Aki in midfield, although there are four changes to the bench, with Leinster tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson also set for his Ireland debut.
“Balance of the squad and the right team to play this game,” said Farrell when asked for his thinking behind the selection.
“It’s not just about the starting team, it’s always about the 23, and not just the here and now but managing people for what’s to come as well. We were pretty lucky in regard to injuries last weekend.
“Getting people going because of how they’ve trained is pretty important as well, obviously with the lack of games for the provinces, etc., all these pieces, they always come together. At the end of the day, first and foremost, it’s about gaining a performance against Argentina but obviously keeping the squad ticking over at the same time.”
Farrell underlined that Ireland’s players and coaches are determined to deliver a much-improved showing on Friday.
They know the pressure is on them to prove a point and win against the Pumas.
“Pressure’s good,” said Farrell. “It’s what concentrates the mind, you see where your character’s at. We want to win all our games but the opposition is always going to have a say in that.
“I think this is perfect because we’ve got another top, top-drawer opposition coming and we want to test ourselves because we feel like we let a few people down last week.”
I first saw him in an u20s game, attacked the line , off loaded in the tackle which created a try, I liked him straight away, and I think Sonny Bill Williams earmarked him for the top after the same game.
@brian o’leary: I think he’s probably the most likely to progress. Crowley more limited in lots of ways. Forget about Frawley.
@Ray Ridge: Frawley has a far higher ceiling than Crowley & I would have started him this week. Dropping him from the 23, especially when Crowley’s form is so poor, is very poor man management and I’m support AF. Prendergast has the most potential of all
@Brian O’Connor: Frawley having a higher ceiling than Crowley based on what exactly?
@Brian O’Connor: Crowley’s form is poor?
@Ray Ridge: it’s only 12 months post Sexton so it’s all to play for. Crowley has the jersey, he also seems the more robust of the three, and he’s the undisputed 10 at his province. The other two are in each others way a little at leinster, but there’re at a stronger province, and more likely to involved in bigger games. Maybe the strongest We’ll ever be at out half at WC 27 , what ever the order? If we had the same talent coming through at prop, we’d be laughing:)
@5sZl1dX2: rugby based on rugby
@brian o’leary: he’s undisputed at his province because the other 2 jumped ship. More likely have competition for a shirt playing for a club where the players actually want to play and not run away as fast as they can.
@Brian O’Connor: Frawley couldn’t get picked ahead of the 2 Ross brothers at Leinster FFS! He has a lot to prove still to be compared with Crowley
@Michael Corkery: Byrne brothers that should be
@chris mcdonnell: lol
@Michael Corkery: To be fair… Marcus Smith would have struggled to get picked ahead of the Byrne Brothers last season. But that’s all water under the bridge now, it is about what’s best for Ireland. Frawley had a horror show, but that doesn’t mean it is the entire reason he was dropped. I see this as a positive move in favour of Sam Prendergast, who is going to climb the ladder quickly now and before long will be first choice in Blue and Green. His talent is still raw, but his range of skills are on a different planet by comparrison to every other 10. It is up to the coaches to harness it now.
@Paul Ennis: Very certain Paul. Have you got a crystal ball?
@chris mcdonnell: I have a great respect for people who are ambitious enough to move to further their career, I also respect those who are loyal, who stay and wait and fight for advancement where they are. Frawley is the oldest of the three, sometimes , when all else is equal, the investment will go to the younger man?
@Thesaltyurchin: Prendergast doesn’t just have enough talent to potentially be an international 10. He has enough talent to be something very special internationally. That and the fact that Farrell seem to see him as the future means that he will get more opportunities than most would get to prove himself. Nobody can see into the future but Prendergast is most likely going to play a big part in it
@5sZl1dX2: Crowley is average and not likely to improve whereas Frawley is potentially top class
@Mistral: yes very poor; not helped by Munster’s problems this season
@Brian O’Connor: yeah yeah ceiling my b0110x what ,would you know about Crowley’s ceiling. P.s we were winning when he took off Crowley on Saturday and once Crowley left the field we failed to score again!
@Mistral: we were winning when he took off Crowley and failed to score again once Crowley left the field!
@Petter Sellberg: maybe one game in Europe b4 we crown him (Prendergast) as lions captain would be necessary??
@Brian O’Connor: crowley has beat out ben healy, joey carbery for muster. For ireland he then beat out Ross, Harry and frawley to be ireland #1. Frawley despite being 2 years older still hasn’t beat out ross or Harry, at leinster and now is about to be passed out by prendergast.
@Brian O’Connor: problems like winning the league is it?
@chris mcdonnell: the other 2 left because crowley became #1.
Succeeding in a club that isn’t at there peak is better then failing for a club who has the biggest budget in world rugby
@Patrick O’Sullivan: That’s quite inaccurate and you’d know that if you were watching Munster. Two seasons ago Crowley was mainly getting minutes at 12 and 15 when Healy and Carbery were preferred options. Munster kind of happened upon Crowley being a real live 10 option after Carbery got injured and Healy decided to jump ship. He was defo 3rd choice behind them.
@Thesaltyurchin: I lost my crystal ball in a bet unfortunately! Just got a really good feeling about this boy. Don’t think I have felt anything like this about a player since Robbie Henshaw first burst on the scene.
@Brian O’Connor: Frawley’s ceiling is the most limited as he is basically a utility player turned 10. Crowley is the most attacking, off the cuff player. prendergast has a good kicking from hand game and passing range but lacks athleticism. Reminder that Crowley is the reigning league player’s player of the year, guided Ireland to the 6 nations and Munster to the only club silverware in Ireland in the last 3 seasons.
@Carmine Lorenzo: Carmine Lorenzo: you clearly don’t know what your talking about then.
Start of 22/23 season jc was 3rd choice 10 in munster and by end of season he was the undoubted 1st choice guiding munster to the championship as well as being irelands 2nd 10.
Jc started 4 of the last 5 games at 10 and 1 at 12, because it was either start healy or scannell due to injury. So jc needed to push out to 12 and start bh at 10 against leinster. Jc was straight back into 10 for the final and bh was 22.
The people who keep writing off jc are the same ones who were telling us how great Ross was when coming through, then it was Harry, now it’s Sam.
Scapegoated frawley and could totally write off another outhalf.
@chris mcdonnell: to be fair I don’t think it’s like that, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ciaran Frawley and Sam Prendergast as the two OHs for the Australia game. We need more than 2 experienced top quality fly halves anyway. He, Ciaran Frawley, had a bad day, as did Jack Crowley last wend. How many times did ROG or Johnny have bad days at the office? Anyway, just my few cents…
@Rob O’Connor: i hope your right. But farrell has form, carbury was dropped like a hot snot, then both byrnes, ben healy wasn’t even considered, burns and carty messed up and never got another chance. AF can be fairly ruthless
@chris mcdonnell: but sure what should Farrell have done? He couldn’t start Frawley after that performance and the same people are in here whinging he’s not bringing players through so he puts one of our most promising players on the bench and people are still not happy. He is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. Lads are talking out both sides of their mouth on social media
@chris mcdonnell: carberry was dropped because he was completely unreliable injury wise. Farrell needed consistency. Getting rid of carberry was a no brainer. He couldn’t even string a few games with Munster let alone Ireland
@chris mcdonnell: I really hope not. Yes Frawley was woeful for the 20 minutes that he was on, but nobody else much better. The Autumn internationals should be about trying different players out, deepening the squad, not meaningless World rankings.
@anthony davoren: if he couldn’t start frawley then why is crowley still selected, he was poor and has been all season.
@anthony davoren: after 36 caps?
@chris mcdonnell: watch the game again. Crowley didn’t have his best game but wasn’t terrible either. Frawley had an absolute mare when he came on, he literally stunk. Now I hope he gets another chance but you can say that both performances were comparable
@Michael Corkery: can’t say
@anthony davoren: yup. Its going like football
@chris mcdonnell: International Rugby is ruthless. I would have thought you would have been a fan of that as Leo Cullen’s lack of ruthlessness has been a huge bugbear. Andy has proven that he is an excellent man manager and I for one trust what he is doing here.
@chris mcdonnell: Frawley has credit in the bank since the summer, he also wasnt the only bench player to have a shocker so i expect him to start v Fiji and bench v Aus. He’ll return to Leinster as no 1 flyhalf although we’ll see SP start a European game for sure now
@chris mcdonnell: Crowley was nowhere near as bad as Frawley. In fact Crowley didn’t do much wrong to be fair. Just didn’t ignite our attack. Frawley on the other hand completely sh/t the bed.
@KIldareman: the rankings are important. If we drop out of the top 4 we risk a nightmare draw at the next WC like last time.
@Kevin Volf: Forget the obsession with the rankings. We should focus on the longer term of winning a QF by building a proper squad. Our match day avg age is 30. Last weekend all others except SA were 26 or 27. It all about winning the next game, not the next WC.
@Kevin Volf: The rankings are not as perilous for the draw as they once were. RWC 2027 will have 6 pools of 4 so Ireland could fall to 6th and still be a top seed. It will take a disasterous 6N next year for that to happen, so better to experiment now and go out to try to win in Feb & March.
@chris mcdonnell: Carbery situation was very different, completely out of form, usurped at Munster and 3rd in the pecking order, and rumours abound that he’s off to France. Don’t even mention the Byrnes, hopefully Ross is off to take the pay day in Montpellier – a good servant to Leinster, but not what we need now. Harry just not cut out either atm. This could be squad rotation or a kick up the arse – we’ll see.
It speaks volume that Crowley helped Munster win a URC title in a hostile environment against the Stormers not long ago. He has obviously lost a bit of confidence bc of everything going on in Munster lately. When he regains his confidence he’ll go back to being a baller.
Might be harsh, but i’m not sure if Crowley will ever be an eilite level international fly half. Of course he’s good, but I think Prendergast has a much higher ceiling
@Dave Moran: not sure about that. International tens tend to have a more measured game and prendergast is more off the cuff.
@Dave Moran: let’s just say that Crowley is better than Sexton was at similar points of their careers. Sexton continued to get better with a few blips – remember him getting dropped for O’Gara in 2011 RWC. Crowley will also improved. Who knows where he’s ceiling is. I wonder do some people on here actually watch rugby or just post nonsense
@Dave Moran: been on sabbatical or something dave?
@Michael Corkery: I love the “Crowleys better than Sexton at this stage….” slant. It’s bollox to be honest. Sexton had won 2 HCs at “this stage” hauling Leinster on his own back in the 2nd. Crowley is just a poor man’s Ross Byrne, except he can’t kick. Hes has a free ride as regards criticism in the Ireland shirt – disappeared against England las year when the going got tough and did the same on Friday night. However, he seems to be a fav of AF just like POM is – AF just has a blind spot that will be his undoing.
@James: no I can remember Sexton in the early part of his career and he was a lot less consistent compared to Crowley. comparing Crowley to Ross Byrne makes it seem like you haven’t a clue
@Michael Corkery: Dropping him for the Wales quarter final was the biggest mistake in Irish rugby history. Hoodoo should have been broke that day and Sexton was the man.
@James: have you even watched rugby?
Sexton made his ireland debut at 24 and didn’t become the #1 10 till he was 26/27 and 29 when he won a 6 nations as the main man. crowley made his debut at 22 has become the #1 10 in the country at 24, winning a 6 nations as the main man.
@James Murphy: Sure thing, mystic Meg.
And crowley if he was brought on 60 minutes in 23 qf we would have won the world cup, or maybe not because it didn’t happen, so it is impossible to know.
Why did it take sexton till 2014 to win a 6 nations if he was the difference between winning a qf or not?
@Michael Corkery: Are you joking me. Sexton had already won a Heineken Cup at 24! Talk about narratives.
@Michael Corkery: Sorry but Sexton was miles ahead of Crowley at his age. You can see potential very quickly in a player. I don’t think Crowley will be our fly half come the next world cup
@Patrick O’Sullivan: not sure why you’ve attacked me on that, I never compared them.
@James Murphy: You’re right. I do apologise. There was no need for the dig at you, I’m sorry.
I’m a huge sexton fan, but there is no way to know if he would have won a qf or not in 2011
@Patrick O’Sullivan: ah sure I know but pub talk is great crack
Some rubbish being talked here the only way Frawley would have a higher ceiling is if he moved in to a remodelled Georgian house …
SP is very inexperienced but no problem with him being on the bench and will be excited to see how he steps up to international rugby where time and space is far more limited than at club level. Lots of province bashing going on but TBH too many of our best players had terrible games Ryan , Joe Mc were outplayed , beirne was lost at 6 given the way the game was played the back 3 did nothing in attack the only one who came out of that game for me with any credit was JGP but that said that starting 15 basically won a 6 nations and won in SA this summer so they deserve a shot to turn it around . Cut out the penalties and we will be moving in the right direction
@Bruce 51: and fix the lineout…
You’d swear we never lost a game for the amateur dramatics… Good to see the squad rotation, be nice to see players selected on form more moving forward, not the whole front 15, but exactly like he’s done here, get them in test experience sooner, more information, quicker. Frawley had a mare but still think he’ll be back if he plays well enough in Blue, it took a while but outhalf has become a crowded position, Prendergast is pretty young (but not the youngest, David Humphries19), so hopefully the new fans will give him a break when he ships a tackle. I’m sure they will
Frawley dropped, hehehehehehehe
@Cian Halley: he might have to move to a bottom of the table URC team
@chris mcdonnell: he might have to if he wants to play more than 200 mins a year at 10
Prenderghast has the highest ceiling and from all reports hes the most natural leader at outhalf we have. He loves to run the week and basically coach the backs – neither Crowley or Frawley are out and out 10s. Both have played alot of their career across other back line positions. Crowley was even a SH in school!
@Owen ODonoghue: it’s not unusual for a 10 to play at other positions while they break through and it speaks more to their abilities and circumstances than to a lack of abilities. Dan Carter is one notable example
@Owen ODonoghue: deja vu.
Haven’t we been here before with leinster 10′s? Being told how great this young leinster 10 is going to be only for them disappear into the distance.
Are you trying to tell us that Sam prendergast is coaching the irish backs at training during the week?
AF would disagree with you on Crowley I would think, he was so impressed with jc at the emerging ireland tour with the way he went about his business on and off the field that he got promoted to the senior squad.
@Patrick O’Sullivan: Some struggle to transcend. But then we all do. All these lads are early 20s, but it’s not good enough for some.