'His attitude to the game hasn't changed. He hasn't tried to become more compliant'

LEINSTER’S PROVINCIAL KICKING coach Emmet Farrell is optimistic Sam Prendergast can push on his game after the Ireland international returned to action with a productive cameo appearance at the weekend. 

Having sat out their one-point loss (27-26) to the Lions seven days earlier, Prendergast made his seasonal bow as a replacement in Leinster’s URC duel with the Sharks in Durban on Saturday.

While Leo Cullen’s side ended up falling to a 26-20 defeat, Prendergast converted a penalty on 66 minutes and later provided a delicate kick towards the corner for a Andrew Osborne try that yielded a losing bonus point. 

It had been a tough 2025/26 at times for Prendergast as he lost his starting place midway through Ireland’s Six Nations campaign before also missing out on the matchday 23 when Leinster came up short against Bordeaux Bègles in the Champions Cup final last May.

Yet the Kildare native rounded off the season with a man of the match display for Leinster in their URC Grand Final win over the Bulls and he also featured for Ireland in Nations Championship bouts with Australia and New Zealand during the summer.

“He looked really good when he came on, he looked very sharp. I was delighted for him. He’s a natural striker of the ball, he’s really good. He’s still young and learning, and growing. We just all have to support him in that,” Farrell remarked at a Leinster media briefing in UCD yesterday. 

“I think he knows he’s learned a lot over the last couple of years as far as the pressures he’s under and what he has to do. It hasn’t shook him, his attitude to the game hasn’t changed. He hasn’t tried to become more compliant.

“He’s still trying to be himself, which is great. We have to encourage that. I’m hoping this year he’s going to kick on. Definitely on Saturday, it was a great start for him.” 

Although Prendergast remains youthful at just 23 years of age, there is set to be an even younger contender for the out-half spot in Leinster.

Currently in year three of the Leinster academy, Caspar Gabriel added to his debut off the bench against Zebre in the opening weeks of last season’s URC by starting for Leinster in the number 10 jersey away to the Lions and the Sharks during that recent mini tour of South Africa. 

Turning 21 later this month, Gabriel was born in Austria and later moved to Dublin when he was 14.

A return to his home country during the Covid-19 pandemic meant he wasn’t eligible for the Ireland U20s in 2025, but he is now Irish-qualified and is seen as a player with a bright future. 

“The thing about Caspar is, he’s very relaxed,” said Farrell. “He’s got a great attitude to the game, he doesn’t get flustered by mistakes. The next minute he’s there again to do it again. It wasn’t a surprise that he’d be comfortable or look comfortable. He was taking the ball to the line against the South Africans and he’s running at the line. 

“Even just learning over the tour to back up two professional games is insane. It’s a really good experience for him. No one has had that at his age. Even Sam at 20 hadn’t got two games in a row against South Africans. 

“Hopefully now he’ll come back with lots of confidence and lots of how he can get better in his own mind. We’ll put an infrastructure around him and hopefully he kicks on.” 

Despite not necessarily being the most high-profile figure within the set-up, Farrell is effectively the longest-serving member of the Leinster backroom team.

A former senior player with the province, Farrell became an analyst with Leinster in 2003 and was later officially announced as their kicking coach in May 2017. 

He went on from there to combine the roles of senior kicking coach and lead performance analyst, before being appointed to the newly-created position of provincial kicking coach in September of last year.

Even though he is still the kicking coach with the Leinster senior squad – Brian Colclough has taken over his old performance analyst role – Farrell explained how his new job comes with a wider remit. 

“Part of my role is working down the pathway, trying to get the younger guys earlier. Trying to get some good technique into them and some good behaviours about their practice. Sort of sell the importance of it,” Farrell added. 

“It’s important that you convince these kids how kicking the ball well is in the game now and how they’ll be judged when they get up the ladder a bit. Trying to push those messages so we can get some good talent coming through earlier. Because if you look across a lot of rugby, there’s a lot of young guys getting chances.”

Advertisement