Easterby On The Ireland Team Selection

Simon Easterby on the Ireland selection for Round 2 of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations. Sam Prendergast is at 10, Peter O’Mahony returns to the pack and Robbie Henshaw comes in for Gary Ringrose.

Asked about the selection of Prendergast to start with Jack Crowley in the replacements Easterby said, “We’re in a position where we’re trying to grow both of them and trying to grow Sam’s experiences, not just at home last week in a huge game for him and for us as a team but also now going away from home. How does he handle those types of experiences which is very different to last weekend?

“I do agree that Jack was good last weekend coming off the bench. The game had opened up a bit and that’s partly due to the way he played and played the game in different areas of the pitch, so he did add real quality when he came off the bench, as did a lot of the other guys off the bench. We know how important the start is but we also saw last weekend how important finishing the game is.

“So Jack is clearly disappointed but he’s an unbelievable person. He’s so supportive. His own disappointment doesn’t reflect on the way he trained yesterday, the way he is in camp, the way he’s supporting Sam and the other players. He’s a great fella and we’re fortunate to have those two. Jack played all of last year, he started every game in the Six Nations, he had those experiences.”