Prendergast possible solution to Irish lineout woes

Five Kildare men took to the field on Saturday as Ireland welcomed Japan to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium for a game that the experts and the bookies agreed would be a dominant home win.

What transpired, however, was yet another reality check for Andy Farrell’s men. Scrums lost against the head, balls not going to hand and a lineout that continues to malfunction were the lowlights of another frustrating performance from Ireland.

Can anyone remember the last time Ireland looked like a top-class team? The summer tour of Georgia and Portugal was a non-event as Farrell and his favourites prioritised personal glory with the Lions over the good of Ireland; the Six Nations was one to forget, in particular that scare from a dire Welsh side in Cardiff; and as far back as last November the cracks were beginning to show.

Ireland eventually pulled away from Japan in the final 15 minutes to win 41-10, but it was another less-than convincing performance as Farrell and his coaches are coming under greater scrutiny with every passing game.

From a Kildare point of view, the game was quite a mixed bag. While very few in green made a big impression, one man who was singled out for praise from Farrell – unprompted – was Connacht captain Cian Prendergast.

Responding to a question posed to him about Sam Prendergast, the Head Coach praised his impact off the bench and added: “his brother did well as well. (Cian) came on and made a difference, stole the ball straight away on his first touch.” 

The retirement of Peter O’Mahoney left a vacancy in the Irish number six jersey. Ryan Baird looks primed to take over, but with the big Leinster man playing so much of his rugby in the second row, Prendergast is doing all he can to put himself in Andy Farrell’s plans.

Winning his 7th cap, the elder Prendergast was impressive in attack and defence; and seemed to solve the Irish lineout problem, winning four in half an hour, one of which led directly to a try.

The Suncroft brothers were introduced for the last half an hour, with Ireland 22-10 in front. Coming on for Jack Crowley, Sam was able to find space in a Japanese defence that was tiring and struggling to maintain their concentration.

The fly half kicked two of his three conversions and showed some deft handling skills to release Tommy O’Brien for a try in the corner in the closing stages.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, was Jamie Osborne. The Naas man has been entrusted with the number 15 jersey at both international and provincial level in Hugo Keenan's absence, but he could be in for a spell on the sidelines himself after he left the field in the 65th minute.

“It doesn’t look good, poor lad,” Farrell said of Osborne. “You can see by the way he was holding his arm - I thought he might’ve broke something – but it’s the shoulder, we think, that it was out of place.” He was replaced by Eadestown’s Jimmy O’Brien, who looked very exciting when he got his chance and will hope to get a crack at starting full back next week against Australia if Osborne is ruled out.

Normally reserved for top billing, Eadestown’s Tadhg Beirn was – by his sky-high standards – anonymous. The red card he was shown very early in the New Zealand game was rescinded earlier this week, making him available for selection for the Japan clash. He played all 80 minutes, but the speed of Japan’s rucks nullified some of Beirne’s biggest attributes.