Ireland match-winner Sam Prendergast ‘the perfect man’ for Cardiff situation

Jamie Osborne hailed match-winner Sam Prendergast’s unflappable temperament after he kept Ireland on course to make Six Nations history.

A title hat-trick, which has never previously been achieved, and the Grand Slam will be guaranteed if Ireland win their remaining games against France and Italy in March.

And it was 22-year-old Prendergast who navigated them safely through choppy waters in Cardiff, nervelessly kicking three penalties during the final 13 minutes of a gripping Triple Crown-clinching encounter.

Full-back Osborne’s try hauled Ireland level before Prendergast took centre-stage and dashed Wales’ hopes of ripping up the form-book by beating a team 10 places above them in World Rugby’s official rankings.

“He has got such a calm head on his shoulders,” Osborne said, of his Leinster and Ireland team-mate.

“Mentally, he doesn’t really get fazed by anything, and he is the perfect man to lead the team in those situations.

“He has always been really calm. He is an unbelievable player.”

Prendergast delivered priceless goods just three months into his Test career, and Ireland knew they had experienced a monumental scare against opponents without a Test win since October 2023.

Osborne added: “It was incredibly tough, but we expected that coming here. Wales were fantastic, and I look forward to seeing what they do for the rest of the tournament.

“We are delighted, obviously, but probably there is a bit of relief as well. We made a few errors in the first half, myself included, and we spoke about just fixing the inaccuracies in the second half.”

Attention will quickly turn to France’s Aviva Stadium visit on March 8, when captain Caelan Doris could be back in the mix after missing the Wales game because of a knee injury.

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