Up at 6am, keeping track of the little brother’s big rugby game.
The parents of Cian and Sam Prendergast must be busting [and bursting] with pride.
One son just had an outstanding season with Connacht, is over with Ireland on his first ever summer tour with the senior Test side, and fronting up to a strong Maori All Blacks side while pushing hard to face New Zealand. The other is in with Richie Murphy’s Ireland squad and ended the U20 Summer Series with an excellent win over England.
Sam Prendergast, starting at 10 for Ireland, kicked 15 points that included a long-distance penalty in the final minute to help his side to a 37-36 victory.
The winning moment! 🤩
A superb long-range kick from Sam Prendergast to edge a thrilling #U20SummerSeries showdown in Verona.#FutureIsGreen | @PwCIreland pic.twitter.com/wcieTmFevP
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) July 5, 2022
“A pretty proud moment”
Sam Prendergast, Patrick Campbell and Lorcan McLoughlin were the stand-out players in that U20 victory over England, wrapping up Ireland’s involvement in the tournament.
Watching from Auckland was Cian Prendergast, older brother of Sam, who is with Andy Farrell’s squad on their five-match summer tour. He said:
“I was up at six o’clock this morning, and it was great to see them going so well. They’ve had a couple of tough results, so it was great to see them getting that win.
“It was a pretty proud moment, watching him slot over that kick. Both my parents and my sister were there [in Italy] to see that game. My dad is flying here. He got to see that and now he is on his way.”
Sam Prendergast is aligned with Lansdowne FC and is in the Leinster academy system. If both brothers keep on track, as they currently are, they could yet follow the likes of the Bests, Wallaces and Kearneys in lining out together for their country.
Older brother Cian made his first senior Ireland start, against the Maori All Blacks, last Wednesday. “It was up another level than what I’m used to,” he said. “The Maoris are an incredibly tough and a really good side, and it has dawned on us, as a group, how tough it is to win down here.”
“The feeling amount the group, after the game, was that we didn’t put our best foot forward,” he added. “We’ll look to do that in that second Maori game, and help prep the lads for that Second Test, too.”
