Connacht coach Pete Wilkins says he’s had no contact with Sam Prendergast about a potential loan move or otherwise to Connacht next season but that he has the IRFU’s permission to bring in an outhalf.
The former Irish underage international, whose older brother Cian plays for Connacht, had been the subject of speculation that he might move west on a year-long loan deal because of Connacht’s injury issues and lack of experienced depth in that position.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen had dismissed the conjecture in the build-up to Friday night’s match at the RDS in which Sam Prendergast played a significant role in his side’s 33-7 victory over Connacht.
Wilkins said: “Look, if he (Sam) is coming, I certainly don’t know about it at this point and that’s not trying to straight-bat it. That’s where we are at.
The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times
Coach says Connacht taking a ‘wait and see’ approach after Mack Hansen referee comments
Munster confirm Craig Casey will miss Six Nations as Nankivell could also face spell on sidelines
‘There were a few offers but it was easy for me to stay’: Robbie Henshaw agrees new Leinster deal
“We have obviously lost JJ (Hanrahan) for the best part of next season, certainly until the new year anyway. I think it’s important we get another ‘10′ in, partly as backup to Jack Carty but also as competition. I think JJ and Jack have stepped up this year in terms of having that competition with each other, so I think it is important (to sign an outhalf).
“Who that is going to be, I honestly don’t know. We are at the stage of compiling a shortlist. That can be people outside of Ireland. We have scope to do that for something like this.
“I think it will be a short-term agreement or a medium-term loan, but you also look in Ireland and that means for something like that to come to fruition, you need the IRFU aligned with whatever the chats are.
“You need any of the parent clubs, the other provinces to be aligned as well, so it’s not a straightforward process. But we definitely want to bring someone in and we will see where we go over the next couple of weeks.”
[ URC quarter-finals: Munster to host Ospreys as Leinster welcome UlsterOpens in new window ]
Cullen was asked whether the 21-year-old had a “positive future with Leinster next season. “Yeah, definitely. When you’ve got young players, 20/21 years of age and you’re sort of in the Academy cycle or you’re stepping into the senior ranks of the team, as I’ve said, you have to keep picking them.
“It requires us to be brave at different times and pick young players, and listen, I thought Sam did lots of good things. Every young player, all the players have things to work on, so it’s just about improving all the time. We don’t just want to have players ready to play at this level, it’s to play at the levels beyond that as well, be top-end international players.
“That’s a big part of what we are trying to do here. But yeah, it was another positive step for Sam and his development to get through 80 minutes. You saw lots of positive involvements during the game. He was obviously ‘10′ for the first 60 minutes and then he even moves to ‘15′ as well towards the tail end of the game; so, yeah, it’s another positive outing for him.”
Dunne signs new contract at Chiefs, Okeke moves to Coventry
Exeter Chiefs have announced that former Leinster and Ireland underage international Jack Dunne has signed a contract extension with the English Premiership club.
The 25-year-old Irishman has made 35 appearances in all competitions since moving to Sandy Park from Leinster before the 2022-23 season. Exeter’s director of rugby Rob Baxter said: “We’re pleased to have Jack staying at Sandy Park. We think he’s another guy that’s got a lot of potential.
“He’s scored some phenomenal tries for us and produced some incredible moments. He just needs that little bit of consistency. He had a couple of issues in preseason this year that held him back at the start of the year, so it’ll be really important for Jack to get a good off-season now so that he’s ready to go on day one of preseason.”
Coventry, in England’s Championship, has announced the signing of another former Irish underage international and ex Munster academy prospect, Daniel Okeke. The 22-year-old backrow who made three senior appearances for Munster.
Coventry head coach Alex Rae said: “Daniel is a really exciting player. The feedback we had from Munster was very good and like a lot of quality Irish players, he has found it incredibly tough to break from club rugby into the provinces. He is hungry to come over and show everyone how good he is and we have no doubt we can help him with that.”
By the Numbers: 229
The number of appearances that Rhys Ruddock made in his career with Leinster. The flanker was given a standing ovation at the RDS in what might have been his final time in a blue jersey.
Word of Mouth
“It wasn’t just my last game in the RDS, it was Rhys’(Ruddock) last game Eddie’s (Byrne) last game, they are a couple of lads who put in a serious shift over the years. The club made it special for us this week. I’m really delighted with how the day went.” Ross Molony, man-of-the-match against Connacht spoke about his last match and that of a couple of team-mates at the venue.
