Sam Prendergast: 'Me and Jack get along very well'

The Munster out half replaced the Ireland 10 in the second half of the win against England on Saturday. 

TEAM OF RIVALS: Jack Crowley, right, and Sam Prendergast of Ireland at Aviva Stadium on Saturday. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Simon Easterby described the choice of Sam Prendergast over Jack Crowley as just one of six or seven “tough calls” before Saturday’s Six Nations win against England.

The evidence after that Championship opener is that the selection meeting for next Sunday’s follow-up away to Scotland won’t be any easier.

The impact of Ireland’s bench was enormous. The hosts scored 22 unanswered points to lock the game down starting with a try just two minutes after Jack Crowley, Dan Sheehan and Jack Conan were all rolled on.

Easterby’s side was already gaining the upper hand by then but the efforts of that trio and others like Robbie Henshaw makes for an intriguing week ahead and nowhere will the debate be more engaging than at No.10.

Same as it ever was.

England coach Steve Borthwick singled out Crowley as one of the key reasons for Ireland’s win but Prendergast is as cool a customer off the field as he appears on it, regardless of how heated the out-half debate tends to be.

“The only pressure I feel is what is inside the group and inside me,” said the 21-year old. “Obviously you want to be the starting ten for Ireland and Leinster, but I wouldn’t be listening to too much outside noise on the pressure of that.

“It’s internal pressure. You want to be starting but there is not too much of a rivalry between us. We work together quite well.” Reports in November suggested a slightly testier relationship than that but it would be odd to expect everything to be peace and harmony and brotherly love when there are players vying for places in one of the world’s top teams.

Players are competitive animals and that starts in training every day even if no-one expects a return to the days when Ronan O’Gara and Johnny Sexton would sit silently in the same car on the way to kicking practises.

“Me and Jack get along very well but there is also [Ciaran Frawley] who we get on very well with also. Tens do a lot of kicking together and when there’s an off day, and there’s only the three of us kicking, it would be a bit awkward if we didn’t get on.

“We travel in the same car to and from kicking. We give ideas to each other in training or in meetings. It’s good to learn off each other. There are only so many reps in training, you’d love to have infinite reps. So you learn from their experiences of certain plays. That’s helpful.” 

The lack of fuss and nonsense is refreshing with Prendergast. He described his own performance against England as “mixed” and insists that there are times when he gets flustered even if he seems to glide serenely through games.

Captivating as the 10 debate is, the role of the man inside them shouldn’t be forgotten. Jamison Gibson-Park was man of the match again at the weekend. The Leinster nine is an absolute gift for any team and for any out-half.

“Ah, unbelievable. He’s so good,” said Prendergast. “I don’t think he gets enough credit. Even when he gets man of the match, he doesn’t get enough credit for how good he is. There is no area of the game that he is bad at. He is an unbelievable kicker and passer.

“He is unbelievable in the loose when you give him space. He’s an unbelievable defender. He’s really nice to play with, like. You get more time on the ball because his pass is so good. He’s brilliant to learn off as well because he has played with so many brilliant 10s.”