Mike Prendergast tips Tyler Bleyendaal to be success at Leinster

Attack Coach Mike Prendergast during training in South Africa. Pic Credit: ©INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Christiaan Kotze.

Tyler Bleyendaal will be the second player who Munster brought to Ireland from the southern hemisphere who will be in the camp of arch rivals Leinster next season, and Mike Prendergast says that all the indications are that the New Zealander will be a big success.

Bleyendaal, who played 62 times for Munster during an injury-disrupted period from 2015 until he was forced to retire with a neck injury in 2020, is joining Leinster as an assistant coach.

Double World Cup winning lock RG Snyman will also be there after his injury-ravaged term with Munster, and while Prendergast was coaching in France when Bleyendaal was playing for his native province, all the reports he has heard have been positive.

“I remember when I was in France coaching when Tyler was a player here, he was a very influential character in terms of his knowledge and what he brought and I’m sure as a coach he’s been the same,” said Prendergast.

“He’s been with the Hurricanes, he has coached with Tonga, which is international experience, he has exposed himself an awful lot.

“And with the exposure he has played here as well, he will know what’s ahead of him. He’s going into a very talented squad as well. All I have heard is very positive stuff from the boys here who would know him.”

Bleyendaal’s announcement came hot on the heels of the news that Jordie Barrett would be staying on in Ireland after the All Blacks play Ireland next November, when he will take up a six-month contract with Leinster.

Munster will take on an All Blacks XV at Thomond Park a week earlier on November 2, so have they any notions of seeing if any other New Zealanders might be keen on playing a half season with Graham Rowntree’s men?

“As of now, no. I’m not too sure to be honest with you,” added Prendergast.

“He’s obviously a big coup for Leinster. What will he bring? He’ll bring something different and Leinster, like any team, will like to tap into that as well, so one as a player but also what he will bring off the pitch as well in terms of his knowledge from different environments. He’s a great signing for Leinster going forward.”

Prendergast’s immediate priority is ensuring that Munster’s hopes of retaining their URC title aren’t derailed against the Bulls this week and the Lions a week later.

It’s their first time back in South Africa since they defeated the Stormers in the URC final last season on what was their trip there in the space of a few months.

They are currently fourth, two points behind the Bulls with five games left, but there are only nine points between them and the Lions in eleventh place.

“It’s in our own hands,” added Prendergast. “Obviously, two challenging games down here. If you look at the league, from one to eleven it’s tight enough and one or two games can change a lot. Even one game can change a lot and that’s all we are looking at, at the moment.

"We have to be clever in how we play, in terms of both halves, just knowing the Bulls and having a bit of information around them, they go into games with certain plans and we have to look at our own game but also not play into their hands in how we play and approach this.

"We need to be really on it, on our game this weekend, to be right in there.

“The Bulls are a hard nut to crack, especially down here. I think it’s been 12 months since they were beaten here but we do feel if we are on it that we have the capabilities of doing that,” added Prendergast.

Munster have brought a 30-man squad to South Africa but will make a call later in the week on a number of players including Shane Daly, Calvin Nash, RG Snyman, Oli Jager and Fineen Wycherley.