His rangy build (1.93m, 91kg) is not without echoes of a certain Jonathan Sexton. Sam Prendergast is, moreover, the designated and announced” successor to the former icon of Irish rugby.  

Despite his 23 summers and his 8 modest caps, the Leinster fly-half is still struggling to convince. The suit is far too heavy to wear. Following Sexton is no small matter. His standards, far too low at international level (but in the club game too), are glaring. 

On Thursday evening on the turf of the Stade de France, Sam Prendergast endured a genuine ordeal. One well-judged kick pass for O’Brien in the first half, a good tackle on Julien Marchand… and that is about all.

7 missed tackles

For the rest, the Kildare native, from west of Dublin, came off badly in the comparison with his opposite number Matthieu Jalibert. He was left trailing on the first two tries, from Bielle-Biarrey and Jalibert in particular. He was intercepted late on by Théo Attissogbe on a kamikaze pass. 

Sam Prendergast, beaten by Jalibert’s step. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile – Icon Sport.

His choices were never the right ones. He did, however, beat three defenders during Ireland’s two good sequences after the break. But the Leinsterman missed 7 tackles out of the 13 attempted. Too many, at international level. Jalibert, for his part, missed only one out of 11. And to finish with the Irish fly-half’s sorry statistics: 0 line breaks. 

On social media, French and Irish supporters alike, along with some specialists and journalists, are pointing the finger at another mediocre Prendergast performance. But is the guilty party not Andy Farrell, Ireland’s head coach? Let us remember that he is only 23. Above all, senior men such as Beirne, McCarthy, van der Flier, Gibson-Park and Ringrose fared no better against Galthié’s France. 

One thing is certain: the Irish staff continue to trust him. Where some head coaches would have taken him off after the first poor performance. Will he be retained against Italy next weekend? Perhaps. Crowley may have to wait a little longer still. But his performances will be scrutinised even more closely in the weeks ahead. Mentally, the lad had better be solid in the face of the many criticisms aimed at him.