Leinster Rugby has announced their 30-man squad for their upcoming tour of South Africa, and among the young talents included is the promising U20 player, David Prendergast. This selection is a testament to Prendergast’s hard work and impressive performances throughout the season, as he prepares to showcase his skills against some of the toughest teams in the Southern Hemisphere. As we look forward to this exciting tour, let’s take a closer look at Prendergast and the other young stars who will be representing Leinster in South Africa.
Leinster Rugby has included four Ireland U20 internationals in its 30-man squad for the upcoming United Rugby Championship (URC) trip to South Africa. Although Stuart Lancaster will remain in Dublin with the frontline players to prepare for the Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse, the head coach Leo Cullen will lead the young squad to South Africa. Leinster, who have already secured top spot in the URC, will play against the Lions in Johannesburg first and then visit the Bulls in Pretoria for their final regular-season game. Sam Prendergast, a highly-regarded playmaker out-half, will be joined by scrum-half Fintan Gunne, second row Conor O’Tighearnaigh, and back row Liam Molony in the Leinster squad. Prendergast is one of only two out-halves in the squad along with Charlie Tector, while Gunne will compete with Nick McCarthy and Ben Murphy for game time at scrum-half. O’Tighearnaigh and Molony may also make their senior debuts, despite not even being in the province’s full academy yet. Among the few Ireland internationals included in the squad are back rows Will Connors, Rhys Ruddock, and Max Deegan, loosehead prop Ed Byrne, and wing Dave Kearney, while Springboks lock Jason Jenkins has also travelled.
As we can see, Jack Prendergast has made quite the impression on the Leinster coaching staff – and with good reason. Despite his young age, he has already shown himself to be a skilled and capable player, capable of holding his own against more experienced opponents. It will be fascinating to see how he develops and progresses over the coming months and years, and we have no doubt that he will continue to go from strength to strength. So here’s to Jack, and to all the other talented U20s who have been included in the Leinster squad for South Africa – we wish them all the very best of luck!
