Peter Burke
Irish rugby supporters are obsessed with the 10 position. Throughout history it has been a talking point, we could go back to Ward v Campbell, Humphreys v O’Gara, O’Gara v Sexton and so on.
We now find ourselves in the same situation with Crowley, Prendergast, Byrne and yes we can include Frawley in the mix, all well capable of owning the jersey but there can be only one on any given match day unless the dreaded utility player monicker is employed, a phrase I despise, but i digress.
Looking back to last weekend and Leinster were up against Edinburgh, a game that prior to kick off, pundits and bookies would have had called for a comfortable win for Leinster and it happened eventually albeit post a few ‘WTF’ moments from the Leinster fans, but the most telling was the complete absense of Sam in the match day 23. Heads were scratched when the team was announced but it wasn’t a huge shock to anyone who knows anything about rugby.
Every player has a dip in confidence, its human nature, and many a sports psychologist will tell you the same, for example:
- Conor Murray (Ireland/Munster):Frequently cited as a player who was once the best scrum-half in the world but, after a dip in form around 2018, struggled to regain his peak confidence and form.
- Matt Tait (England): Often remembered for a brilliant debut but had his confidence and career impacted by injuries and a standout performance against him by Gavin Henson, which some fans suggested changed his trajectory.
- Joey Carbery (Ireland/Munster):Discussed as a player whose form fluctuated due to injuries, with supporters debating if he could ever return to his high-confidence 2018/19 form.
- Brock Lamb & Jaelen Feeney (Newcastle Knights – NRL): playmakers whose confidence was “completely ruined” by their club environment.
- Blair Kinghorn (Scotland): Before moving to fly-half, his early confidence was reportedly affected by being challenged for the jersey.
- Nathan Hughes (England/Bristol):Highlighted as a player who had a gradual decline in form.
So it can happen to any player and look Sam Prendergast is a bloody good player, i do like the double pump pass to release players through a line break, but he has his flaws, dont we all.
In a recent podcast appearance Dan Biggar suggested the following and to be honest he’s not wrong and we only have to look at Harry Byrne when he went to Bristol for 6 months and came back a much improved player.
“You look at what Harry Byrne did, he went away to Bristol fox six months and just got out of the public eye.
Lets just say he goes to France or wherever, the Irish journalist are not going to be covering every single game, they’re not going to be criticising every single little mistake he makes.
Maybe there’s something in it for him where he can look at getting out of the limelight for six months, just take the pressure off him and come back a better player.
Where he goes or what he does is different, Ireland’s selection policy is different to other countries…
He probably needs six months where he just really focuses on his development and game, almost take yourself out of the spotlight to come back a better player, better person, and better man.
It’s as much mentally as physically with him at the minute.”
A change is as good as a rest and for a quality player like Sam Prendergast maybe he needs a change of scenery to reignite his game play, a skillset he most definitely has.