IT’S BEEN A tough few months for Sam Prendergast. Dropped during the Six Nations and benched for Leinster’s Champions Cup run-in, a young 10 who enjoyed a rapid rise suddenly found himself on the outside looking in.
At that point it was hard to envision what the final weeks of the season would hold for Prendergast. Had he slipped to second, or even third in the Leinster pecking order? Would he have a say in Leinster’s URC title defence? Would he travel to Australia and New Zealand with Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad?
As it happened, the Leinster vote swayed back in his direction, with Harry Byrne hitting his own bump and Ciarán Frawley left on the fringes ahead of his move to Connacht.
And so, it was Prendergast who wore the 10 shirt for Friday’s URC final. A pressure game for a player who has already experienced so much in his young career. On this occasion, Prendergast rose to the challenge and delivered a season-best showing in what became a highly impressive Leinster win.
Many stood out on the night, with Jamison Gibson-Park, Joe McCarthy, Max Deegan, Hugo Keenan, Jack Conan and Josh van Der Flier all excellent, but as the man pulling the strings it was Prendergast who took home the official player of the match award.
He’ll have enjoyed his nights work, but most pleasing was the manner of Leinster’s dominant, connected team performance.
“Yeah, it’s brilliant,” Prendergast said.
Prendergast worked hard in defence. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
“I thought the way we played was one of our better performances of the season and I think that’s a huge credit to everyone involved that that’s the last game of the season. I think it’s been two years now where we’ve really rallied towards the end of the season when it’s not that easy in terms of our run of fixtures. I thought it was brilliant.
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“And I think the most important thing is just with the amount of lads leaving and brilliant characters leaving that it’s hugely important to send them off on a good note, because maybe not last year, but years before that it’s been tough sending lads off when it’s not a winning season.
“It’s nice to get a trophy and be able to enjoy each other’s company now for the next few days and properly celebrate.”
And nice to play such a central role in an impressive team effort. The 23-year-old scored Leinster’s fourth try and kicked nine points off the tee. In attack, his passing was sharp and accurate while encouragingly, a player who has faced criticism for his defensive work added some excellent moments without the ball. Post-game, Leo Cullen highlighted the out-half’s first-half cover chase and tackle as his standout moment of the match.
“I suppose I was hoping one of the faster lads would be chasing back, but yeah, it was just the way it happened that it was a very unnatural situation, and we ended up with no one in the backfield and I was just chasing across.
— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) June 20, 2026
“So yeah, I just hung on to the ball, I don’t really know how, but yeah, it was a good moment.
“There were bits I was happy with, I still made loads of errors,” he added of his overall performance.
“The lads did such a brilliant job in terms of up front, you look at the amount of injuries that are up front and how well all the lads played in terms of scrum, in terms of lineout defence, they didn’t really give the Bulls much. And then in how the lads played outside me, and inside me Jamo as well, like the platform I was given, it makes it all a lot easier.”
Both Leo Cullen and Andy Farrell will be encouraged to see Prendergast looking back to his best, having come through a period that could knock any young player’s confidence. The out-half was asked how he managed to turn the disappointment of Bilbao into producing a season’s best showing just a few weeks later.
“I don’t know. It’s just constantly, you’re just trying to get better and play better,” he said.
Prendergast takes a stray boot to the face from Stravino Jacobs of the Bulls. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
“Like I reckon I played a better game today than I did in last year’s final, and that’s probably the end goal, isn’t it? As in, you want to keep progressing as the years go on and as the weeks go on and that’s kind of what I’m chasing down.
“As in there was obviously parts of the season where I probably wasn’t too happy with how I was playing, and I wasn’t getting selected then because of that, which is just the nature of it.
“But yeah, it’s nice to be able to put out on the pitch stuff that I feel like I’m working hard on and getting better at.”
Channelled in the right way, a season of challenges can be shaped into an important spell of personal growth. Prendergast feels he’s learned a lot from riding those highs and lows.
“Yeah, I do. As in, it was probably a very different season to last season in terms of how it started. We started over in South Africa getting thumped by the Stormers and there was a tough run of fixtures, lost a lot of games early in the season.
“But I have a lot of good people around me in terms of coaches, players, a lot of the leaders within Leinster and Ireland are very good to listen to, and they would have been a huge help through some of those performances where I wasn’t playing the way I wanted to.”
It’s been a strange few weeks at Leinster, but the squad didn’t let the pain of Bilbao suck the life out of their URC defence. Prendergast gives both Cullen and Jacques Nienaber credit for their part in negotiating that particular storm.
“They’re always impressive (in how they manage the group). Obviously I’m going to say that now because they’re my coaches! But yeah, I think they’re obviously always impressive in terms of how they’re able to…. Like it was the same last year (after Northampton), it wasn’t a final, but it was the same, a setback, and you have to build again, and I think they’ve been excellent at building again.
“How they speak (to us) is brilliant. They’re both obviously very different, there’s also other coaches involved as well who care so much, so much backroom staff that care so much, and I suppose when your coaches care that much, it rubs off on the players, and it’s just a good squad to be involved in.”
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'I have a lot of good people around me' - Prendergast turns Bilbao pain into Croke Park glory
IT’S BEEN A tough few months for Sam Prendergast. Dropped during the Six Nations and benched for Leinster’s Champions Cup run-in, a young 10 who enjoyed a rapid rise suddenly found himself on the outside looking in.
At that point it was hard to envision what the final weeks of the season would hold for Prendergast. Had he slipped to second, or even third in the Leinster pecking order? Would he have a say in Leinster’s URC title defence? Would he travel to Australia and New Zealand with Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad?
As it happened, the Leinster vote swayed back in his direction, with Harry Byrne hitting his own bump and Ciarán Frawley left on the fringes ahead of his move to Connacht.
And so, it was Prendergast who wore the 10 shirt for Friday’s URC final. A pressure game for a player who has already experienced so much in his young career. On this occasion, Prendergast rose to the challenge and delivered a season-best showing in what became a highly impressive Leinster win.
Many stood out on the night, with Jamison Gibson-Park, Joe McCarthy, Max Deegan, Hugo Keenan, Jack Conan and Josh van Der Flier all excellent, but as the man pulling the strings it was Prendergast who took home the official player of the match award.
He’ll have enjoyed his nights work, but most pleasing was the manner of Leinster’s dominant, connected team performance.
“Yeah, it’s brilliant,” Prendergast said.
“I thought the way we played was one of our better performances of the season and I think that’s a huge credit to everyone involved that that’s the last game of the season. I think it’s been two years now where we’ve really rallied towards the end of the season when it’s not that easy in terms of our run of fixtures. I thought it was brilliant.
“And I think the most important thing is just with the amount of lads leaving and brilliant characters leaving that it’s hugely important to send them off on a good note, because maybe not last year, but years before that it’s been tough sending lads off when it’s not a winning season.
“It’s nice to get a trophy and be able to enjoy each other’s company now for the next few days and properly celebrate.”
And nice to play such a central role in an impressive team effort. The 23-year-old scored Leinster’s fourth try and kicked nine points off the tee. In attack, his passing was sharp and accurate while encouragingly, a player who has faced criticism for his defensive work added some excellent moments without the ball. Post-game, Leo Cullen highlighted the out-half’s first-half cover chase and tackle as his standout moment of the match.
“I suppose I was hoping one of the faster lads would be chasing back, but yeah, it was just the way it happened that it was a very unnatural situation, and we ended up with no one in the backfield and I was just chasing across.
“So yeah, I just hung on to the ball, I don’t really know how, but yeah, it was a good moment.
“There were bits I was happy with, I still made loads of errors,” he added of his overall performance.
“The lads did such a brilliant job in terms of up front, you look at the amount of injuries that are up front and how well all the lads played in terms of scrum, in terms of lineout defence, they didn’t really give the Bulls much. And then in how the lads played outside me, and inside me Jamo as well, like the platform I was given, it makes it all a lot easier.”
Both Leo Cullen and Andy Farrell will be encouraged to see Prendergast looking back to his best, having come through a period that could knock any young player’s confidence. The out-half was asked how he managed to turn the disappointment of Bilbao into producing a season’s best showing just a few weeks later.
“I don’t know. It’s just constantly, you’re just trying to get better and play better,” he said.
“Like I reckon I played a better game today than I did in last year’s final, and that’s probably the end goal, isn’t it? As in, you want to keep progressing as the years go on and as the weeks go on and that’s kind of what I’m chasing down.
“As in there was obviously parts of the season where I probably wasn’t too happy with how I was playing, and I wasn’t getting selected then because of that, which is just the nature of it.
“But yeah, it’s nice to be able to put out on the pitch stuff that I feel like I’m working hard on and getting better at.”
Channelled in the right way, a season of challenges can be shaped into an important spell of personal growth. Prendergast feels he’s learned a lot from riding those highs and lows.
“Yeah, I do. As in, it was probably a very different season to last season in terms of how it started. We started over in South Africa getting thumped by the Stormers and there was a tough run of fixtures, lost a lot of games early in the season.
“But I have a lot of good people around me in terms of coaches, players, a lot of the leaders within Leinster and Ireland are very good to listen to, and they would have been a huge help through some of those performances where I wasn’t playing the way I wanted to.”
It’s been a strange few weeks at Leinster, but the squad didn’t let the pain of Bilbao suck the life out of their URC defence. Prendergast gives both Cullen and Jacques Nienaber credit for their part in negotiating that particular storm.
“They’re always impressive (in how they manage the group). Obviously I’m going to say that now because they’re my coaches! But yeah, I think they’re obviously always impressive in terms of how they’re able to…. Like it was the same last year (after Northampton), it wasn’t a final, but it was the same, a setback, and you have to build again, and I think they’ve been excellent at building again.
“How they speak (to us) is brilliant. They’re both obviously very different, there’s also other coaches involved as well who care so much, so much backroom staff that care so much, and I suppose when your coaches care that much, it rubs off on the players, and it’s just a good squad to be involved in.”
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highs and lows Rugby Sam Prendergast Leinster URC