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Sam Prendergast dropped for England game as Andy Farrell restores Ireland’s Lions
Sam Prendergast has been dropped from Ireland’s match-day squad to face England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday, with Jack Crowley replacing the young Leinster fly-half in the starting XV and Ciaran Frawley named on the bench.
British and Irish Lions quartet Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne, Josh van der Flier and Jamison Gibson-Park all come back into the starting line-up as head coach Andy Farrell opts for experience for the visit to London.
Prendergast, 23, was under intense pressure following Ireland’s disappointing start to their Six Nations campaign.
Prendergast was ruthlessly targeted by France on a wet opening night in Paris, and then stuttered again in Ireland’s 20-13 comeback win against Italy in Dublin last weekend, in which he missed two simple conversion attempts. Prendergast was eventually replaced by Munster’s Crowley, eliciting huge cheers from the Aviva crowd.
Andy Farrell, the Ireland head coach, launched an emotional defence of the player in his post-match comments, calling on Ireland’s rugby public to collectively put an arm around him and hitting out at “keyboard warriors” on social media. But Farrell conceded Prendergast would be disappointed with his performance and hinted that Crowley would be starting at Twickenham.
Aside from the changes to the two half-backs, Farrell has opted for an unchanged back line with Jamie Osborne, Robert Baloucoune and James Lowe the back three and Stuart McCloskey and Garry Ringrose continuing in midfield.
In the pack, Jeremy Loughman, Dan Sheehan and Furlong are selected in the front row, Joe McCarthy and James Ryan are retained in the engine room, with Beirne, Van der Flier and captain Caelan Doris in the back row.
Ronan Kelleher, Tom O’Toole, Finlay Bealham, Nick Timoney and Jack Conan make up the forward replacements, with backs Craig Casey, Frawley and Tommy O’Brien completing the 23.
Sexton’s words of warning can help Prendergast bounce back
Andy Farrell’s decision to remove Prendergast from his starting XV for this weekend’s high-stakes encounter at Twickenham comes as no surprise given the player’s form and the public mood. The decision to remove him from his match-day squad entirely could be seen as callous or a kindness depending on your point of view.
Johnny Sexton, who was 24 when he made his international debut, a year older than Prendergast is now, spoke this week about his own experiences with the “toxic” nature of social media, which only became a thing later in his career.
“I’ve been there,” Sexton, who is now Ireland’s kicking coach, told media. “I knew when to stay away and had all the different settings [on my phone] so it was only those close to me that could contact me. That’s probably the best advice I got and can give to the guys now. Get a lot of the noise and distractions out of your life.
“If one of these guys [trolls] knocked on your door, would you let them in? Why do you let them in through social media?”
Prendergast could do worse than heed it. He will be back. He is still young and there is clearly a talented player in there.
Farrell is bound to come under criticism for his handling of the youngster’s career – and perhaps that is warranted – but he has now removed a potentially destabilising element from Ireland’s preparations for Saturday.
The team he has picked, bar a couple of backs where injuries have forced his hand, is packed with experience and has a point to prove.
It was not so long ago this Ireland team were on top of the world. They will be desperate to prove they are not in decline.
[Source: Daily Telegraph]
