WHILE HE STRESSED it wasn’t part of a grand plan for the Kildare man, Leo Cullen feels playing for Leinster in a brace of friendly encounters during last year’s Six Nations Championship was important for the development of Ireland fly-half Sam Prendergast.

Set to turn 22 tomorrow, Prendergast picked up his fifth international senior cap and the player of the match award as Ireland defeated Scotland in the second round of the 2025 Six Nations at Murrayfield Stadium on Sunday.

This represents a rapid rise for the former Newbridge College student, who was named as one of three training panellists for the 2024 Championship before ultimately making his Test debut against Argentina last November.

In addition to enjoying brief appearances in United Rugby Championship victories over Benetton and Cardiff after being released back to Leinster, Prendergast was handed starts in non-competitive duels with Saracens and Bath – which preceded the return of Cullen’s Six Nations contingent to the provincial fold. Although both of these friendlies ended in defeat for Leinster, the Wicklow native believes the experience Prendergast gained from facing the English Premiership duo was invaluable.

“We organised two games last year because we had a cohort of players, and Sam being one of them, where you wanted to try and challenge them. We had the opportunity to play against Bath and Saracens, who were both pretty loaded. Those games were important in his development. We lost both of those games quite heavily, but again it was a great experience,” the Leinster head coach remarked at a media briefing in UCD on Monday.

“He was on the back foot a little in both of those games as well, so how you manage the game when you are not on the front foot [is crucial]. It can be easy when you are. If you think of how he has progressed on from there, a couple of the South Africa experiences he has had with Leinster and then with Ireland as well. He has built up plenty of experience over the last couple of seasons.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a grand plan. You just want to set young players up well. It’s hard to skip the levels. Sometimes people think you can just crack on. He is still incredibly young.”

Though much has been made of the battle between Prendergast and Munster’s Jack Crowley, versatile Leinster star Ciaran Frawley is someone who is also viewed as an option for the number 10 jersey in the Ireland team. Despite featuring extensively at both full-back and inside centre in the recent past, Frawley had two mixed outings as a replacement for Crowley at out-half in the international arena last year.

Whereas his brace of drop goals made him the match-winner upon deputising for the Cork man in a second test triumph over South Africa in Durban last July, Frawley struggled during his 23 minutes on the pitch in an Autumn Nations Series opener against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium four months later.

After missing out on the match day 23 for the opening two rounds of this year’s Six Nations Championship, Frawley (who had to deal with ankle and back injuries either side of that autumn window) was one of six players from the Ireland squad that was training with Leinster yesterday morning in advance of their URC clash away to Ospreys this Friday evening.

The other internationals to join him at the province’s UCD base on Monday were Jack Boyle, Jimmy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Gus McCarthy and Joe McCarthy – the latter having been ruled out of Ireland’s games against England and Scotland because of a concussion issue.

It remains to be seen whether this sextet will all see action in Swansea later on this week, but if selected, Frawley will be eager to deliver a performance that might put him back in the thoughts of Simon Easterby for the closing three rounds of the Six Nations.

“In terms of Ciaran, the New Zealand game doesn’t go well off the bench. Then he picks up an injury with us and he’s out of action for a while, but that happens. You have to wait for the next opportunity and if that comes this Friday, you have to make sure he is ready for it,” Cullen added.

“Because he is a quality player and you want that level of competition. When you lose out, it feels like you’re miles away when it actually really is neck and neck. Sometimes the other guys kick on and things may not work out. That’s the fickle nature of the business.”