Sam Prendergast: 'To be honest with you, it’s a pretty fickle game'

Sam Prendergast was left to reflect on the fickle nature of rugby after putting recent frustrations behind him to produce a Player of the Match display in Leinster’s bonus point win over Ulster in Belfast.

The Ireland fly-half had been omitted altogether from the Investec Champions Cup knock-out games against Edinburgh and Sale over the previous two weekends, while he hadn’t started a game for a month.

But handed the No 10 jersey for the inter pro clash with Ulster, he delivered a try-scoring 14 point performance as a much-changed Leinster team won 29-21 to secure the maximum haul and clinch the Irish Shield.

Reflecting on his fluctuating fortunes of late, he said: “To be honest with you, it’s a pretty fickle game.

“But when your team-mates are that good, in terms of how close we are, and when they play like that on the pitch, it just makes my job a lot easier.

United Rugby Championship

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

Glasgow

15

11

4

0

55

2

Stormers

15

11

4

0

51

3

Leinster

15

10

5

0

51

4

Lions

15

9

5

1

48

5

Ulster

15

9

6

0

47

6

Munster

15

9

6

0

46

7

Cardiff Rugby

15

9

6

0

46

8

Bulls

15

9

6

0

45

9

Connacht

15

8

7

0

44

10

Ospreys

15

6

7

2

34

11

Sharks

15

6

8

1

34

12

Edinburgh

15

5

10

0

28

13

Benetton

15

5

8

2

28

14

Scarlets

15

4

10

1

23

15

Dragons RFC

15

2

10

3

21

16

Zebre

15

2

13

0

14

“We spoke a lot during the week about how a lot of this group played in Glasgow a few weeks back.

“That was a very frustrating game and we came away annoyed with what we put out there.

“When you look at what we put out there in this game, especially the first 50-60 minutes, it was really good. We got a lot right. It felt like as backs we could do whatever we wanted because the forwards were unbelievable, just backing us up, whether it was scrum or lineout.

“They just gave us an unbelievable platform and it was a lot easier to play with that.”

The 23-year-old added: “There was a lot of momentum with the club coming into this week and I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to keep that momentum going and we did, so it’s brilliant. It’s a pretty special feeling, to be fair.”

Giving his assessment on the young fly-half, head coach Leo Cullen said: “Sam has had a frustrating couple of weeks in terms of selection, so for him to come out and play the way he did is testament to him.

“He’s kept his head down and he’s working hard on all aspects of his game. I thought he managed the game incredibly well out there.”

Cullen had made 12 changes from the side that beat Sale in the Champions Cup quarter-final the week before, but Leinster showed their quality in depth as they raced into a 29-0 lead and saw the game out following an Ulster revival.

“There are so many moving parts at this time of the season, you need to rely on your squad. It’s hugely important,” said the former Ireland second row.

“I was really pleased with how the guys stepped in. I thought a lot of them really stood up well.

“It was such a physical game out there, with both teams going hard at it, which is what everyone wants to see in inter-pros. It was unbelievably keenly contested.

“Guys understand how much is at stake for them out there. I thought it was a great contest. It’s so competitive, the URC.

“We showed good resolve and the effort over the course of the game was great. It’s a good win for us on the road. It was pleasing.”