Connacht Rugby is celebrating the promotion of captain Cian Prendergast to the Ireland team for this week’s Six Nations opener at Stade de France.
While Bundee Aki will be missing due to his six-match suspension for “disrespecting and verbally abusing” match officials after Connacht’s recent loss to Leinster, the addition of Cian Prendergast is a real boost for the province as he takes his place alongside his brother Sam, who plays with Leinster - the first time the brothers are starting together for Ireland.
Cian Prendergast, who has played eight times for Ireland, is the only Connacht player competing against a brother at the highest level, and says it is “nothing we can take for granted”.
“Dreaming about it since we were kids,” he says. Now they will be on the same side, both named in the starting XV, with fellow Connacht stalwart Finlay Bealham on the bench.
Prendergast, a product of Newbridge College, is close to marking his 100th game for Connacht, having joined the province in 2020 after two years in the Leinster sub-academy, and having won his first Ireland cap in 2022.
The former Connacht Academy Player of the Year and also a fan favourite, Prendergast is known for his strength, power, speed and endurance, and athleticism, and admits to having adopted Connacht in his six years.
“To be honest with Connacht and the Sportsground, I didn’t fully understand when I joined, I thought I did, and I am still figuring it out how amazing this place is, and how special the people are.
“Because, to be honest, the west of Ireland is different, and it’s something I will never take for granted. It is something I am still trying to figure out and can’t answer.
However, he said, the “people deserve a Connacht team that embodies the history of the west of Ireland and also truly see themselves. For us, that is what we look to deliver.”
Billy Bohan’s sensational rise
While Connacht will be getting behind both Prendergast brothers this weekend as he makes his ninth cap for Ireland, another Connacht player Billy Bohan was in the news this week after being added to Andy Farrell’s training squad.
Bohan, the 21-year-old, is enjoying a meteoric rise, and while his addition to Andy Farrell’s squad came as a huge surprise following injuries in the team, it is a significant nod to those who have coached him.
Bohan’s pedigree is well established - the grandson of the late great Mick Doyle - who, like Prendergast, learned his trade at a Newbridge College. It is a huge boost for Connacht, who have given Bohan the opportunity to establish his credentials at URC level, and it is now being recognised at the top tier.
Farrell says it was Lancaster’s selection of Bohan against Leinster that spoke volumes.
“It says a lot that Connacht were playing one of the biggest games of their history against Leinster with the stadium opening, and he was first choice. We have followed his progress through the U20s and Connacht,” Farrell says.
And although not selected on the Ireland team, Bohan has been on the national radar for some time.
Lancaster’s policy to assimilate young players from the Connacht Academy into first team training is paying dividends. In addition to Bohan, players such as Harry West, Hugh Gavin, Finn Treacy and Fiachra Barrett have all experienced URC rugby.
“These 19-, 20-year-olds, who haven't maybe played for Ireland 20s yet, they're in our meetings. They're in our training sessions and they're growing their knowledge and experience,” says Lancaster.
“That gives me great confidence for the future of Connacht, because I know the quality of the players I'm coaching.”
