‘I only want to play for Leinster’ – Sam Prendergast wants to be number one choice at outhalf

Despite giving some thought to the idea of a temporary switch to an interprovincial rival, Sam Prendergast has said Leinster is the best place for him as he looks to progress up the out-half ladder from a provincial perspective.

In competition with the likes of Ciaran Frawley, Ross Byrne and his younger brother Harry for the number 10 spot in Leinster, there was some talk towards the tail end of last season that Prendergast might make a loan move to Connacht for the current campaign in order to gain more opportunities as a starter.

Given his older sibling Cian has been with the westerners since 2020 – and was recently named their club captain – this is an arrangement that would have made a lot of sense for Prendergast.

Yet the Kildare native ultimately opted to remain within the eastern province and is now set to make his second start of the present term when Leo Cullen’s men take on the Lions at the Aviva Stadium in the United Rugby Championship this evening (kick-off 5.15pm).

“I suppose you’re always thinking ‘well maybe I can do better with a bit of game time’ and stuff like that. Did I give it thought? I suppose I did, yeah. Being honest, I did, and it was selfish, but it’s also from a team point of view as well. All I was thinking was ‘how do I become the Leinster number 10?’,” Prendergast remarked earlier this week.

“I only want to play for Leinster. That’s where I want to achieve things, but it’s how do I become the Leinster number 10? It was giving the thought of ‘is it from going to somewhere else where maybe I’ll get more game time?’ I ended up not thinking that was the best decision, but I did give it thought.