Kildare trio named in Ireland squad to face Australia on Saturday
Kildare’s Sam Prendergast has been selected at fly half for Ireland's game against Australia on Saturday, while his older brother, Cian, starts from the bench. Photo: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell has named three Kildare men in his 23 to for Saturday's test match with Australia at the Aviva Stadium.
It will be Ireland’s third game in the Quilter Nations Series, which started with defeat to New Zealand in Chicago before a 31-point win over Japan last week in Dublin.
Kick-off is at 8.10pm, with live coverage on RTÉ 2 and TNT Sports.
Eadestown's Tadhg Beirne was this week named as the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland Player Of The Year, and will continue in the Irish second row alongside James Ryan for the third game on the bounce.
Beirne was shown a since-rescinded red card in the opening minutes of the New Zealand game and was extremely quiet last week against Japan by his normally sky-high standards.
The other Kildare native in the starting XV is Suncroft's Sam Prendergast.
The Leinster fly half played well last week when he replaced Jack Crowley for the last 30 minutes and has been rewarded with his first start for the national team since the win away to Georgia back in July.
Prendergast will be hoping to lay down a marker ahead of the mammoth clash with South Africa next week.
His elder brother, Cian, is in a similar situation and completes the Kildare involvement in Farrell's match-day squad.
The Connacht captain made a big impression off the bench against Japan, with the Suncroft man excelling in the lineout.
Prendergast once again starts from the bench where he provides cover for the back row - as well as the second row should Ireland find themselves stretched in that department.
Jamie Osborne has been entrusted with the number 15 jersey at both international and provincial level in Hugo Keenan's absence, but the Naas man has been ruled out of Ireland’s remaining fixtures with the shoulder injury he sustained against Japan.
Jimmy O'Brien replaced Osborne against Japan, but despite his versatility the Eadestown man has been left out of the squad altogether, with Mack Hansen preferred at full back while Bundee Aki is in the 23 jersey on the bench.
Currently ranked 7th in the world, Australia have had a November to forget so far on their tour of the Northern Hampshire.
An understrength Wallabies side scraped past Japan on a scoreline of 19-15 in Tokyo, before losing 25-7 to England in London and 26-19 to Italy last week in Rome.
Australia will be familiar with their opponents on Saturday having faced an Irish-heavy Lions during the summer.
The Wallabies have not beaten Ireland since 2018 and go into the game as 4/1 underdogs, with the bookies forecasting Ireland by 10.
There is also the intriguing matchup of former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt going against his former protege, Andy Farrell.
Having come out on the wrong side of the Lions tour, Schmidt will be looking for a modicum of revenge in the city his once called home during his spells with both Ireland and Leinster.
The Kiwi had originally stated his intention to leave his role with Australia after the Rugby Championship, but agreed to stay until mid-2026 before handing over to another former protege, the ex Ireland and Ulster coach Les Kiss.
