Talks to open over Sam Prendergast's future at Leinster

Would not be surprised if he went to another Irish province, but think it will happen at the e end of next season to late for home to leave, Leo Cullen would be wrong to send him away now

I think that Sam prendergast and harry Byrne are being held back by Leo Cullen. They both have plenty of potential and are both in very good form but there is a rotation between them both which means that they can't be as consistent as other fh because they only have half as many games to prove themselves with. One of them has to go and thrive somewhere else and it's looking like prendergast will be the one. The only question is where he will go

Neil, when you sit down to write an article, it would be a good idea to start with a little bit of basic research?

1. There wouldn't have been even one hair of a single eyebrow raised in Dublin regarding Sam's provisional contract rather than central… It was a little surprising, but not outrageous when Van der Flier had to wait until his 3rd professional contact. But nobody gets one until they are nailed on starters for Ireland. Anyone who knows anything about the IRFU could have told you this

2. But the real surprise for Leinster fans would be if Leo Cullen selected Ciaran Frawley to start seeing as he is off to Connacht!

quoting Dan Biggar as a reference source deflates the purpose of this article. Give your head a wobble.

does not have a central IRFU contract, which, when it emerged, raised more than a few eyebrows among the Dublin side’s fan base, many of whom found it outrageous

Not sure where you’ve gotten this other than some whackos on Twitter, as a Leinster fan there is nobody that believes he deserves a CC when he’s not the undisputed first choice for Ireland myself included even when I’d say I rate him and back him to get there.

Leinster are well stocked at fly-half, with Byrne his main competition to start, and Ciarán Frawley, who started against Japan in the summer, also available to Leo Cullen

Wonder how Leo’s managed that seeing as Frawley’s moved to Connacht.

I know this site isn’t exactly the peak of journalism but I expected a bit more from Neil honestly.

Surely Wonderboy is going to have to pay D4 to take the pitch. He’s still a terrible rugby player - and only the D4 thickos and clueless Farrell can't admit that

The central-contract detail is the interesting part, and it's more than an administrative curiosity. A player who is the province's and increasingly the country's first-choice 10, on a provincial rather than an IRFU contract, sits in a slightly odd position: the union has less formal control over his workload and no direct stake in his development pathway, while carrying all the risk if he leaves. That's exactly the sort of gap that gets noticed only when a French or English club makes an offer, at which point everyone discovers what the arrangement actually says.

Biggar's suggestion is worth taking more seriously than it usually is, though. The Harry Byrne comparison is apt, and the reason a move works is rarely about coaching: it's that a young 10 in Dublin plays every match under the eye of people who have decided in advance what he is. A season somewhere with lower stakes and less scrutiny lets a player make mistakes that aren't nationally litigated, which is precisely what a 23-year-old fly-half needs and precisely what the current structure cannot provide.

Which is the broader point about the Irish system, and it cuts both ways. Total union control produces coherence, aligned selection and no club-versus-country war, and Ireland has benefited enormously from it. It also means there is nowhere to go for a season without leaving the ecosystem altogether. In France a player in this position moves from Racing to Bayonne, develops, and comes back. Ireland has four provinces and an unwritten rule that you don't move between them, so the only available step sideways is a step out.

Nothing wrong with Leinster keeping him, obviously. But if a 23-year-old's development options are "stay and be scrutinised" or "leave and be lost", that's a structural limit worth naming while the conversation is about a contract rather than a departure.

Em, Frawley has left Leinster for Connacht. It was pretty well publicized, surprised you missed it…..

Carbery is back at Leinster though and is an OH option.

Post World Cup, I’d agree that he might benefit from playing elsewhere I’d guess that the draw of playing for Leinster and Ireland and the possibility of a Lions call up will keep him in Dublin.

I think Crowley in form is better than him currently.