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Tyler Bleyendaal on Sam Prendergast: 'He just has to keep chipping away'

Leinster assistant coach Tyler Bleyendall said Sam Prendergast is performing well in attack but will want to perform better defensively. Pic: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

There’s just something about out-halves. Just like the quarterback in the NFL, or the striker in football, rugby's No.10s have an outsized orbit that draws in much more attention than pretty much any other position.

They’re all the rage this season, whether it be the battle between Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley for the green jersey, Andy Farrell’s choice of playmakers for the British and Irish Lions, or the news that Carlos Spencer is coming to Terenure.

Spencer is 49 now, 21 years removed from the last of just 44 caps he won for the All Blacks, but Tyler Bleyendaal knows just how big it is for his iconic countryman to be coming to the AIL club in the guise of head coach.

If the Leinster attack coach was more of an Andrew Mehrtens man because of their shared Canterbury links, then he still offers words like “rockstar” and “legend” to sum up a player who lit up the game.

“He was actually coaching at the Hurricanes before I went there. He was a great player, but he has also been in that coaching scene as well. He has been successful with the Blues women’s team as well.

“If he came along [to Leinster’s training base] I’m sure it would be pretty exciting. Hear his thoughts and see where he thinks the game is at. What he thinks around developing the young players. It’s pretty exciting.”

Bleyendaal spent some time coaching in the AIL at the back end of his own playing days with Munster, when helping out with Garryowen. He did a small bit with Glenstal Abbey too.

The domestic league has always played a formative role in developing coaches and players. Prendergast played AIL with Lansdowne not so long ago but has since shot up the ladder to the very top of the game.

Well, almost the very top.

Confirmation that the Leinster out-half wasn’t selected on Farrell’s initial 38-man Lions squad for the summer tour to Australia was expected after a mixed bag of performances in the Six Nations and a difficult day in the Champions Cup semi-final.

The 22-year old still managed to fire off two exceptional passes in setting up of two Leinster tries against Northampton Saints that day, but his defensive work is being targeted by opposition players and by critics alike.

“He just has to keep chipping away, it’s not something that you have to overload,” said Bleyendaal. “It’s part technical, part just application in the moment. I don’t feel he will explode it into a bigger issue than it is.

“There’s tens in all competitions that get targeted or put under pressure defensively and very rarely do you see dominant tens. Sammy will want to perform better on the defensive side, he is operating well in the attacking space and providing assists and making some nice breaks for himself.”

Leinster still managed to have a record 12 players named on Farrell’s Lions squad last week. A good day for the club after the loss to the Saints and Bleyendaal made the point that “one poor performance” should not define their season.

The inference is clear. Yes the Northampton loss was a major disappointment. And yes the Lions tour is a major carrot for so many of them. But the focus now is on finishing the regular URC season in the right style against Glasgow in Dublin this weekend.

And as for Prendergast, and Robbie Henshaw, who was another from the province to miss out on a golden ticket Down Under, there is still hope of a slot opening up this next month and more.

“They’re pretty disappointed. You can never expect anything, you’re not entitled to a position on the Lions and the guys will be disappointed. Robbie and Sam have responded well, they have both been upbeat. They’re just straight back into work.

“The tour hasn’t started yet, so they will be thinking, ‘How can I keep improving myself?’ ‘How do I play well for Leinster and how do I keep putting my best foot forward if something was to happen?’

“I can imagine there were some pretty close calls and decisions in that squad announcement.”