Gavin Cummiskey talks to Bourgoin scrumhalf Mike Prendergast ahead of the club's battle against Munster and his against old rival Peter Stringer
Mike Prendergast is home for the weekend. As good a candidate as any of the wild geese for the title of Irish rugby's Forgotten Man. There are no airs and graces here. Just a sharp pass and a gentlemanly manner. Anyone who is well liked in both Garryowen and Young Munster's club houses must be a decent skin.
Attempts to make Peter Stringer really scrap for the number nine jersey never really got off the ground. Reconstructive shoulder surgery and a damaged cruciate - in his first game back for Garryowen from the former injury - saw to that. Before that, three years ago now, he was relieving Ireland's scrumhalf of his duties at the tail end of games. That had never happened before. Or since. He was a contender.
Alas, the Munster avenue became a cul de sac. He, like so many other scrumhalves from the region - Frank Murphy, Eoin Redden and Tom Tierney - were forced into exile in order to continue a professional career. "It was hard with Peter there as the number one scrumhalf as he's been playing well for five or six years. My situation had also happened to a lot of other guys. Stringer's consistency meant there were limited opportunities.
"Regrets? No. I could have done without one or two injuries but I really enjoyed myself at Munster. I was in the squad for three European Cup finals. We won the Celtic League, the Celtic Cup and I learned so much under Declan Kidney and Alan Gaffney."
The injuries forced Prendergast into a career choice. He switched back to Young Munster last season, from Dooradoyle, to take up a player-coaching role until a two-year contract playing alongside and against the most stylish players in the game presented itself. A no-brainer. Munsters surely forgave him.
At 29, Prendergast and his family arrived in the municipality of Bourgoin Jaillieu, just 25 miles south east of Lyon, last July. Picturesque. Slow. Rugby-mad but plenty of teething problems. "Initially I didn't have any of the rugby terms (a prerequisite for a scrumhalf) but the last two months I have played five games on the trot which has helped my confidence and I have got to know the terminology.
"It was difficult at the start as we arrived over in mid-July and didn't have the language. In fact, nothing was open! And because we only had a few words it became frustrating as we couldn't ring people up for help. Thankfully there are several guys in the squad who speak English like (Tongan) Salesi Finau who came from Bath and Bryce Williams who was with Leinster last season. Then there is Italian international Carlo Del Fava, who is actually South African. The most helpful guy was New Zealander Glenn Davis who has been here for seven years and knows the run of the place."
Prendergast is long enough in the tooth not to get cut up about the return home but being part of the team that finally breaks the Thomond spell would be special. Highly unlikely mind, but the people of Limerick would note the irony of this mighty unbeaten record finally crumbling with the assistance of one of their own.
Bourgoin have a bad reputation in this neck of the European woods having been accused of throwing a game at Lansdowne Road two seasons back. Third in their domestic league, they lost 92-17 to Leinster. Unclean! - tapped the lap tops in the west upper. What has become apparent is French teams switch off when they lose their initial European battles, especially at home. Cardiff attained their first win on French soil last Saturday so are Bourgoin going to fold? "I don't think so. You should see the work we've done on the training ground this week and in the video room on the Munster squad. Cardiff was our first home defeat of the season so the guys desperately want to improve."
Questioning the honour of Bourgoin can be dangerous. Six days after that Leinster mauling, mindful of the media criticism, the return fixture produced a sizzling affair that was only sorted by a magical Brian O'Driscoll try. They beat Leinster down there last year. They also did Munster back in 1997 in a tempestuous encounter.
The return to Limerick is a chance to take in the rapid Irish way of life. The traffic will make him chuckle. A chance to see close friends (who will not be so friendly come kick-off). A chance to shuffle up to the scrum alongside Stringer. All very familiar.
"I've been keeping it all in context. This happens in professional rugby. I'm not the first and I certainly won't be the last player to return to Munster with the opposition. The way I see it playing against the European champions is a perfect way to gauge yourself."
It could be special or it could simply be another bump along the Munster journey, which we learned in Welford Road is far from complete. Mike Prendergast has come home. He's going to enjoy it.
