Kildare stars shine bright in European clean sweep
Sam Prendergast was named Player of the Match for the second week in a row after an excellent display in France that included a beautiful try. Photo: INPHO/Ben Brady
Leinster began their Champions Cup campaign with a win away in France on Saturday, turning over Clermont Auvergne at the Stade Marcel Michelin.
The home side led 16-15 at half time, but barely two minutes after the restart Jimmy O'Brien and Sam Prendergast combined to create a try from their own 22-metre line, with the Suncroft fly half going in under the posts to leave himself a routine conversion.
Leinster added two more converted tries before Clermont pulled it back to 36-23 with quarter of an hour remaining, but the visitors sealed the deal with two late tries as they left the French midlands with all five points.
Prendergast and O'Brien were in the front seat for Man of the Match contenders, along with Dan Sheehan, as the Kildare pair continue their sensational recent run of form, with Prendergast getting the nod for the second week in a row.
Jamie Osborne came off the bench for the final 20 minutes and looked as steady and reliable as always. There was also room for a little sentiment and nostalgia in the 73rd minute as Athy's Joey Carbery replaced Prendergast to make his first appearance for Leinster since leaving the province in 2018.
Three-time winners, Saracens, are not the force they once were, but they arrived in Galway with six British and Irish Lions in their starting lineup and a point to prove against Stuart Lancaster's Connacht.
The London side went 12-0 up before Suncroft's Cian Prendergast powered over for a try - the first of two from the Connacht captain. Two more tries followed from the hosts before Saracens' third try left it 19-19 at half time.
Prendergast put Connacht back in front shortly after the restart, but new laws mean that scoring four tries is no longer enough to secure a try bonus point. The hosts crossed for a further three tries to give them seven in total, but the new laws dictate that teams must score three tries more than their opposition to secure the bonus point.
Alas, Saracens crossed the whitewash five times, meaning Connacht must satisfy themselves with just the four points on what was nevertheless a dream start to their Champions Cup campaign.
Prendergast was a force of nature across the game, with his brace of tries the highlight of a performance that also included a mammoth 15 carries. Fellow Kildare man, Billy Bohan came on for the last half an hour, yet still made himself one of Connacht's top tacklers, with 12 (an average of one tackle every 2.5 minutes), as well as making a couple of important carries.
It was a poignant day for the southern province, as Saturday night's clash at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork, marked ten years since the passing of Munster and Ireland legend, Anthony 'Axel' Foley. Clayton McMillan's side paid their respects with a hard-fought win over Racing, despite a spirited effort from the silky Parisians.
Munster led 14-6 at the break and began the second half with a try made in Kildare, with Athy's Jeremy Loughman charging towards the line before his captain, Eadestown's Tadhg Beirne, finished the move from close range.
Racing clawed it back to 21-18, but Munster did enough in the final quarter to leave Cork with the victory, but like Connacht before them, their five tries were not enough for a bonus point, as Racing touched down three times themselves.
Kildare's Loughman (17) and Beirne (14) were two of the game's top tacklers, while Beirne also won two turnovers as well as being Munster's top carrier with 11.
Two sides who were going in search of their first win of the season faced off on Saturday afternoon in Italy, with Ulster coming out on top after running in six tries away to Zebre.
Ulster were 19-0 up at half time and extended that to 26-7 by the time Athy's Martin Moloney came off the bench after an hour to make only his second appearance for the northern province.
But Moloney played a crucial role, going over in the corner with just three minutes left on the clock to secure the bonus-point win for Ulster.
