Stephen Ferris: Too early to tout Sam Prendergast for Ireland

Stephen Ferris believes any talk of Sam Prendergast being fast-tracked into consideration for Ireland's squad for the upcoming Six Nations is premature and feels the Leinster out-half needs to be given time to establish himself and build experience.

Former Ulster and Ireland back row Ferris was speaking on RTÉ's Game On on the back of a weekend which saw his native province earn a 22-21 inter-pro victory away at Leinster in the BKT United Rugby Championship.

The 20-year-old Prendergast started the game for Leinster in what was just his eighth senior appearance for the province but it was Ulster out-half Billy Burns who made the most telling contribution during the contest.

While Ferris is among a plethora of observers excited by Prendergast's potential, he said some of the focus on the Kildare youngster did not sit well with him.

"I'm not naming the media outlet but during the week there was all this chat about, should Sam Prendergast be given the opportunity to play for Ireland in the Six Nations and to be honest, I was listening to it going, 'this is so Leinster blue-tinted glasses sort of stuff I'm listening to'. It actually struck a nerve with me," he said.

"It was very annoying and frustrating to listen to. This is a young guy who undoubtedly has talent and potential but he has to prove himself in big games and he has to prove that he can manage his team around.

"I thought he did that reasonably well but it doesn't help when his opposite man, Billy Burns, ended up getting man of the match and controlled things very nicely for Ulster.

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