Ireland coach Andy Farrell has explained his decision to retain Sam Prendergast at out-half for Saturday’s clash with Australia, outlining his belief that the Leinster starlet has earned his shot.
However, while he said Jack Crowley and Ciarán Frawley have plenty to work on, the coach says the pair remain firmly part of his plans.
Prendergast has leap-frogged the more experienced duo during this window, coming off the bench against Argentina before starting and playing 80 minutes against Fiji. Tomorrow, he’ll get a chance to show what he can do against a Joe Schmidt coached Wallabies side.
“A couple of things. I think he deserves it,” Farrell said when asked about his decision to select Prendergast.
“I thought he played pretty well. He has trained pretty well over the course of this Autumn Series as well, so there’s another chance there to lead the week and grow in that manner.
“Obviously, the opportunity to play in a big game along with a good side behind him. For the likes of himself and Gus McCarthy and a few others actually, hopefully you combine all of that together and it kicks them on for the future.”
Asked what he wants to see from Prendergast, Farrell said: “To grow on the performance of last week, you know? I thought, and so did he, that his performance was good.
“A few errors thrown in there, I thought he was nice and composed… how he controlled the bench coming off the bench against Argentina as well. You can throw that into the mix.
“Putting it all together in an 80 minutes performance of a big occasion for everyone involved.”
He was then asked if Prendergast has played better than Crowley this month, or if this is a call made with the future in mind.
“Jack’s played very well for us for a good while now, played in a lot of big games as well,” Farrell said.
“So, we know as far as that’s concerned what we’ve got, although there’s a lot of improving to be had and to be seen with Jack and Ciarán Frawley, etc. but I suppose it’s pretty similar to Conor [Murray].
“Conor’s an unbelievably trusted member of our staff, as is Jack. Craig played well, he deserves his chance to play in a big game also, so it goes through the squad.”
Farrell was asked about his conversation with Crowley.
“Just be honest,” he said.
“It’s the same as every conversation that you have with every player. There’s no difference.
“I know it’s a good story for you guys but there’s no difference between telling a fly-half or a captain or whoever it may be or an experienced player that this is the way that you’re going to go this week in comparison to someone who you have that type of conversation most weeks with.
“There’s no difference at all, they’re the same people. We tend to be as honest as we possibly can. There’s always a reason behind it and the squad that we’ve got they all understand it’s team first and what we need to keep developing us growing as a group.”
Saturday’s game will see Farrell go head to head with his old boss Schmidt.
“I love it. It’s a great story, isn’t it?” he said.
“Joe deserves all the accolades and probably more so when he comes back to Ireland because what he did for Irish rugby, not just here at the IRFU but over the road there at the RDS, was phenomenal.
“He’s the most successful coach in Irish rugby when you look at his time overall in Dublin. We’ve got a lot to thank him about and I think it’s a nice story that we get to celebrate this game alongside him.
“Coaching against him for New Zealand (at the World Cup), it’s not as high profile because he wasn’t head coach, but it was because you could see his DNA all over that anyway.
“We’ve been here a little bit before, but when he comes back to these shores he should be celebrated for everything that he’s done to Irish rugby.”