The growing pains of Sam Prendergast – aged 21 and three quarters. While Sue Townsend wrote her books about the teenage angst of Adrian Mole, the media has its storytelling focus firmly trained on the developmental days of the Leinster and, since his November Test debut, young Ireland outhalf.
Expectation seems to weigh lightly on his shoulders. Prendergast appears unfazed by the glare, one that certainly doesn’t inhibit him in the way that he plays the game. There is no outward fear or hesitancy, he accepts that occasional mistakes are collateral damage for the way he plays. It’s a “next job” outlook, to use the sporting vernacular.
He made a fistful of errors in the throes of honest endeavour during the first half of Leinster’s Champions Cup victory over the Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate last weekend but continued to push hard for his team, a mindset and self-possession that enabled him to score 20 points, including two smartly taken tries. Adversity reveals character, or so the fortune cookie says.
Prendergast understands that to retain the 10 jersey he needs to refine and evolve his game continuously. He’ll have plenty of help from team-mates but also the coaching staff. One person who is key to that development is backs coach Tyler Bleyendaal, who has the T-shirt from his playing days as a brilliant young outhalf.
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The New Zealander will be a key resource for a bright, inquiring mind. Bleyendaal was asked to evaluate the progression of his young charge to date.
“He’s definitely maturing, probably beyond his years. He obviously had some great moments on the ball and line-breaks and tries.
“But we [the team] had some difficult periods in the first half. You look back, you got a good result and you’re kinda grateful for having to go through some of that adversity. For him to be a part of that, to have to solve problems along with the forwards or the other game drivers, it’s probably a good learning curve for him.
“I think he just enjoyed himself, finding opportunity on the ball and trying to set the other players alight.”
Prendergast struck a nice balance in varying the point of attack, something Bleyendaal also highlighted.
“Yeah, definitely. He’s really good at putting other players in space. [At other times] he found himself in space himself and he backed himself, which is always great to see. I think the players around him appreciate that about him and it was just pleasing for him to get those rewards. He’s a very skilful passer and kicker and it’s always great when a team has to worry about your run though as well.”
Prendergast benefits from being surrounded by top-class players from scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park to the centres Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose. But for the second half in Bristol there was a new face in the All Blacks’ Jordie Barrett, who slotted in at inside centre, and paved the way for the outhalf’s first try.
Bleyendaal was asked about Leinster’s latest recruit. “[He’s] just a champion guy. I think off the field, he’s a really nice fellow. He’s really dedicated, and I think on the field, you see his attributes, he’s really physical. He’s a big man, but he can also run, he works really hard, on and off the ball. So, yeah, [an] exciting player to work with.”
As his best position, Leinster’s backs coach feels that Barrett can have the biggest influence when playing in the centre. “Definitely in the middle, he adds a lot of punch to your attack. He can get over the gainline, but he’s got subtleties to his skill set which puts other players in space.
“I don’t want to pigeonhole him into ‘he’s this player’ but the attributes he has, he can offer [things] across, our system; but probably most comfortable in the 12 [role] at the minute.”
He demonstrated all of those qualities against Bristol.
“The parts of the game he added to were quite simple where his decision making and his ability to run hard or use the skill sets were quite clear, and he just did them well,” said Bleyendaal.
“He started getting his hands on the ball a lot and linking up with the other players in the back line a lot of the time. The game was a weird one. We worked hard the first half, and we defended a lot. We probably expended a lot of energy, but so did Bristol. The guys in the second half were able to find some opportunity.”
Prendergast and Barrett would like to work in tandem again when Saturday comes, and Clermont Auvergne visit the Aviva Stadium (5.30). Leo Cullen will reveal his hand publicly when it comes to team selection on Friday lunchtime.
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