James Ryan wary of potential Cian Prendergast impact as Connacht look to claim scalp
Ahead of their clash in the United Rugby Championship at the RDS on Sunday evening (kick-off 7.35pm), Leinster’s James Ryan has earmarked Cian Prendergast as one of the key threats in a Connacht side that will be out to claim a major interprovincial scalp.
Since making his professional debut in a Pro14 bout against Edinburgh in October 2020, Kildare native Prendergast has established himself as a regular presence in the westerners’ pack. The consistency of his performances for Connacht saw him being included in the travelling party for Ireland’s summer tour of New Zealand and he started at blindside flanker in the two midweek encounters with the Māori All Blacks.
He eventually made his full international bow in a 35-17 victory over Fiji last month and will once again don the number six jersey for Connacht’s latest trip to Dublin. While Ryan was rested for their showdown with the Fijians, he has seen enough of Prendergast – whose brother Sam is in the Leinster Academy – to know exactly what awaits the URC pace-setters in Ballsbridge.
“Very impressed with him and I’ve been impressed whenever he’s been in national camp. A very aggressive, kind of robust player. He’s very good on both sides of the ball. He’s well able to carry, but he’s very strong in the contact area. Defensively he’s also very good in getting over the ball,”
Ryan explained in advance of Sunday’s fixture.
“He’s a serious option to use when it comes to line-out time. Attack and defence. I think he’s a player that has come on a lot the last couple of years and he just seems to keep getting better. He has a big ceiling.”
Having sat out the narrow St Stephen’s Day win over Munster at Thomond Park, Ryan is one of 13 players to come into the Leinster starting line-up for their latest duel with Connacht.
Although the competitor in him was eager to be in the heat of the battle in Limerick, he nonetheless took advantage of an extended rest period over the festive calendar.
“It was nice. In my family house, we’d uncles and aunts and cousins over. Two five/six-year-old cousins. They are just balls of energy, running around the place screaming for six hours!
“I thought it was a very good performance [against Munster]. Would have been a great game to play in, with an unbelievable atmosphere by the looks of it.
“When we went 14-6 down and we were down to 14 men, I thought we showed good character in that period to go and score two tries. That window was probably the difference in the end.”
Whereas it only seems like a few years ago that he was the new kid on the block, the 26-year-old Ryan now finds himself playing the role of mentor to some of Leinster’s latest second row prospects. Ryan Baird (23) and Joe McCarthy (21) filled the lock positions against Munster, while former Wexford minor footballer Brian Deeny (22) lines out alongside Ryan in Sunday’s game.
Yet instead of feeling ill at ease, the Ireland international is readily embracing this new-found responsibility.
“I enjoy it. I think we’ve a good balance now in the second row, in terms of the age profile. There’s Ross [Molony], myself and [Jason] Jenkins, we’re all kind of similar ages. Then you’ve got guys like Joe McCarthy and Ryan Baird coming up. Brian Deeny another one coming up behind.
“I love putting a plan together during the week and helping some of the other guys along with their detail and things like that. That’s just probably the way it would have been for me three or four years ago when Dev [Toner] was here,” Ryan added.
Aside from Ryan, team captain Jonathan Sexton is also selected at out-half for his first Leinster start in more than two months. He is joined in the backs by fellow Ireland internationals Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour and Jamison-Gibson Park, while 2021 World Rugby Men’s Player of the Year Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris return to add considerable bulk to the Leinster back-row.
J O’Brien; J Larmour, L Turner, C Ngatai, R Russell; J Sexton, J Gibson-Park; M Milne, R Kelleher, M Ala’alatoa; B Deeny, J Ryan; R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris.
J McKee, M Hanan, V Abdaladze, A Soroka, S Penny, C Foley, H Byrne, J Osborne.
T O’Halloran; D Kilgallen, T Farrell, D Hawkshaw, J Porch; J Carty, C Blade; P Dooley, D Heffernan, D Robertson-McCoy; D Murray, N Murray; C Prendergast, S Hurley-Langton, J Butler.
S Delahunt, D Buckley, S Illo, O Dowling, C Oliver, K Marmion, T Daly, B Ralston.