Life has moved quick for Prendergast over the previous couple of years.
Born in Kildare, he spent 18 months of his childhood in Syria, the place his father Mark – a lieutenant-colonel the Irish Defence Forces – was based mostly on the time.
“I’ve nice recollections of it,” Prendergast recalled of his time in Damascus.
“I met Diarmuid Mangan, who I performed under-20s with, over there, his household had been over there on the similar time so we spent a yr over there and we had been residing collectively after we left faculty.
“It was a little bit of a coincidence nevertheless it was fairly particular to share particular days with him.”
He dabbled in Gaelic soccer and soccer at college however ultimately selected rugby. He represented Newbridge and Lansdowne earlier than becoming a member of the Leinster academy in 2022, by which stage Cian had left to affix Connacht.
Having consumed a fly-half eating regimen of Sexton, Danny Cipriani, Quade Cooper and Damian McKenzie, Prendergast began to make a reputation for himself. In 2022, he kicked 15 factors – together with a late penalty from distance – to assist Eire beat England in a pulsating Underneath-20s encounter in Italy.
In 2023, he starred for Eire’s Underneath-20s throughout their Six Nations Grand Slam triumph in 2023 and their run to the World Rugby U20 Championship remaining.
His fast toes and offload for a James Nicholson attempt within the Six Nations win over Wales even caught the eye of All Blacks legend Sonny Invoice Williams, who stated “keep in mind that title my buddies”.
His Leinster debut, in opposition to the Lions in April 2023, provided an early glimpse of his mettle, nailing six of his seven kicks to assist safe the province’s first United Rugby Championship win in South Africa.
Final season was certainly one of growth. He began simply 4 occasions for Leinster however clearly left sufficient of an impression for Farrell and his coaches to deliver him to South Africa.
Earlier this yr, he was tasked with beginning three Rising Eire video games within the area of per week in South Africa. The aplomb with which he dealt with such a heavy workload was key to Farrell’s choice to throw him into the combination in opposition to Fiji.