Sam Prendergast’s blunt verdict on his rivalry with Jack Crowley for Ireland fly-half berth

Ireland fly-halves Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley.
Rookie Ireland playmaker Sam Prendergast has downplayed talk of a rivalry with fellow fly-half Jack Crowley and dismissed it as “outside noise”.
There was plenty of debate amongst Ireland fans about the decision from the team’s interim head coach Simon Easterby to select Prendergast as his starting fly-half for their Six Nations opener against England at the weekend.
That meant that Crowley, who was Ireland‘s first choice number 10 when they were crowned Six Nations champions last year, had to be satisfied with a spot amongst the replacements for Saturday’s clash with the Red Rose at the Aviva Stadium.
Had to dig deep to beat England
Although Ireland clinched a 27-22 victory in front of their home fans, they had to dig deep to secure the result as England held the upper hand for long periods.
Prendergast, who is Leinster’s number one fly-half, feels his performance was “mixed” but would not entertain talk of a rivalry between himself and Crowley, who plies his trade with Leinster’s arch-rivals Munster.
“The only pressure I feel is what is inside the group and inside me,” said Prendergast.
“Obviously you want to be the starting 10 for Ireland and Leinster. But I wouldn’t be listening to too much outside noise or the pressure of that… You want to be starting but there is not too much of a rivalry between us.”
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Following the retirement of legendary fly-half Johnny Sexton after the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, Crowley was the preferred choice as Ireland’s number 10 and he played every minute of last year’s Six Nations title-winning campaign.
However, he fell behind Prendergast in the pecking order during last year’s Autumn Nations Series and Easterby also has the option of selecting another Leinsterman, Ciaran Frawley, at fly-half.
“Me and Jack get along very well but there is also Frawls who we get on very well with also,” said Prendergast.
‘It would be a bit awkward if we didn’t get on’
“Tens do a lot of kicking together and when there’s an off day and there’s only the three of us kicking, it would be a bit awkward if we didn’t get on.
“We travel in the same car to and from kicking. We give ideas to each other in training or in meetings.”
Meanwhile, Sexton has been added to Ireland’s backroom staff to work with the aforementioned fly-halves during the Six Nations.
“He’s been very good, whether it’s kicking or just general play,” said Prendergast. “His mind was his most powerful asset a lot of the time when he played, so there is a lot to learn off him and I still have a lot to learn off him.”