Talk, heading into the 2025 Six Nations, was of Finn Russell and Marcus Smith vying for the British & Irish Lions No.10 jersey. Sam Prendergast is certainly in that conversation, now.
Jack Crowley is doing all that Ireland’s interim head coach Simon Easterby is asking, but looks further and further away from the outhalf role he craves, at Test level. For the second match running, Crowley was asked to plug into a makeshift backline, in the closing stages, while Prendergast clung on to the steering wheel.
Saturday, in the 28-17 win over Wales, was another of those mixed bags from Prendergast. He looked serene and unflappable as Ireland cruised into a 10-0 lead. Had Jamie Osborne connected with Garry Ringrose, out wide, Ireland would have been in cruise control. As it played out, Osborne was cursing his errant pass and, minutes later, Ringrose was heading for a sin-bin and his yellow card woulds then be upgraded to red.
The rest of the afternoon was a slog for Ireland, but it will stand to them, and Prendergast, that they ground it out. The Leinster man clanged the post with a first half penalty and missed his touchline conversion after Osborne scored a try, in the left-hand corner.
Bundee Aki, right, and Sam Prendergast celebrate during the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Wales and Ireland at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. (Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile)
Sam Prendergast also missed eight of the 16 tackles he attempted, conceded three turnovers, was flumoxed by Toby Faletau’s obstructive line before the Tom Rogers try and, in the final 10 minutes, kicked out on the full from inside his 22.
That was the bad stuff, but there was a lot of good, notably the 50:22 spiral kick and 55-metre penalty that took the game out of Wales’ reach. Across six major outlets, Prendergast averaged a player rating of 7/10.
He has now won all five Test matches he has started in the 10 jersey and is generating a lot of Lions talk. While many in England are putting a new ‘Smith’ forward, Prendergast has a Welsh rugby legend predicting he will start the First Test against Australia, this summer.
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Dan Biggar believes Sam Prendergast will start for Lions
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Ahead of Ireland’s win over Wales, Shane Horgan and Rob Kearney told Virgin Media Sport they expected Sam Prendergast to make the British & Irish Lions touring squad.
“If Ireland go as we think they are going to go,” said Horgan, “you can’t not bring the 10 of the most successful team. Of course he’ll go. It doesn’t matter his age, in relation to the Lions as he will have proved himself in this Six Nations. I don’t think there is anything controversial in that.”
“I think he’s on the plane,” Kearney added, “and, if he continues on this trajectory, he’ll be right in there to start.”
Following the game, Horgan did argue that while Prendergast had quite a few good moments, it was his poorest overall performance since he broke into the Ireland team.
It is not just Irish pundits discussing Prendergast with that Lions Tour in mind. In recent weeks, the likes of Chris Ashton and John Barclay have mentioned him as a potential tourist. In a special Lions edition of The Rugby Pod, former Wales and Lions outhalf Dan Biggar ran through the leading candidates to make Andy Farrell’s squad. While Biggar personally edged towards Scotland’s Finn Russell, he declared:
This is a big statement, but I think Sam Prendergast will start that First Test, for the Lions, against the Wallabies. I’m saying that off the basis that I think Ireland are going to win the championship and, potentially, the Grand Slam, and that Leinster are going to be right there in the big URC matches, and in Europe.
I’ve been really impressed with how Sam has taken to international rugby. He looks assured and positive. For me, in a Lions year it is not all about who has the best reputation of skill-set, it’s all about who is playing the best rugby and right in the mix, playing with confidence… I believe Sam is going to be playing in big, big games and will only get better.”
Biggar now feels Russell may be the ‘fall-back’ option if Prendergast struggles in some of the big, end-of-season games. Russell’s case was not helped by missing a crucial tackle on Ollie Lawrence, in Scotland’s narrow loss to England, and all three of his conversion attempts.
The Telegraph claimed in one heading that Russell ‘bottles it’ while, in another headline, that he ‘blows his chance’.
That same headline stated that England 10 Fin Smith showed ‘nerves of steel’. The Northampton Saints star nailed a long-range penalty that ultimately was the winning of the Calcutta Cup clash, and he has been backed for the Lions by pundits Matt Dawson, Will Greenwood and Ugo Monye.
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