Now in his fifth season with Connacht, Cian Prendergast appreciates the enormity of the occasion when he leads out his team in front of an all-time record home attendance for the province against Munster in Mayo on Saturday.
“Yeah, look it’s massive, about 26,000-plus people and tickets from all five counties,” said Prendergast in advance of the sold-out interpro derby at Hastings Insurance MacHale Park.
“It’s huge to spread the game around the province and also showcase Connacht rugby to the rest of Ireland because I know there’ll be eyes from the wider sporting community in Ireland. We’re really looking forward to showing the best version of ourselves on the biggest stage.”
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This being his first season as captain, the 25-year-old also appreciates the privilege that comes with his role, all the more so in returning to the team with fellow Irish squad members Mack Hansen, Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham for the first time since he led Connacht to a win over Benetton four weeks ago.
“It’s a massive privilege to get to do this in the first year that I’m captaining the side. It’s incredible. I’ve amazing people around me so it’s not me captaining a side just by myself, you’ve spoken about the three other lads, I’ve Bladey [Caolin Blade] here beside me, Heff [Dave Heffernan], Joycey [Joe Joyce] − all those kinds of characters that really help.”
It’s a tricky balancing act, embracing the enormity of the occasion while not being distracted or overwhelmed by it. Mention the uniqueness of this fixture in the context of Connacht’s 140-year history and Prendergast responds good-naturedly: “Jeez, are you trying to make me nervous, or what?”
But the Connacht captain sees the possibilities of this occasion being more of a positive than a negative for his team.
“I think any time you’re involved in an occasion like this and a game like this at this stage of the season, there’s always going to be pressure, but we’ve got to use that pressure almost as a privilege because we’re in a position where we can actually achieve something quite special. That’s how we have to direct how we think and how we control our week.”
As much as anything, this is a pivotal game in the URC campaigns of both Connacht and Munster. Only 11 points separate Cardiff in fifth from Zebre in 15th, with Connacht sitting 12th on 31 points in the scrap for a top eight play-off place and Champions Cup qualification, and Munster sixth on 34 points.
The need is acute for both teams, then, but more so for Connacht, also bearing in mind that after next week’s foray into European round of 16 ties, Connacht make the trek to South Africa to face the Stormers and the Lions, before hosting Edinburgh and finishing away to Zebre. By contrast, three of Munster’s last four games are at home.
“Yeah, it’s mental,” said Prendergast regarding the congested battle for play-off spots. “It was similar last year and we kinda fell off in a few games so that’s pushing us to really start performing at this end of the season.”
Indeed, it was a limp 47-12 defeat to Munster which sparked an anticlimactic, three-game losing run at the end of last season which saw Connacht finish in 11th place, five points adrift of the top eight. The memory of that is clearly a motivation for Prendergast and Connacht a year on.
“We’re extremely privileged to be in this position to get to play in this game so it’s extremely exciting. Hopefully it kick-starts us into a really exciting end to the year.”
Coming from GAA country in Kildare, Prendergast also appreciates the novelty of this fixture.
“I suppose Gaelic football was probably the first sport I loved. I played it up until I was about 16. My mum’s side of the family is heavily Gaelic football and I played for a small intermediate club in Kildare, Suncroft GAA. I loved playing there and it’s probably the first sport that I really took to and really loved.”
This huge game in Connacht’s season and their history comes in the wake of Prendergast’s Six Nations, during which he was picked on the bench for the game in Cardiff but had to withdraw on the morning of the match with a vomiting bug.
It was a particularly cruel stroke of luck given he would have been playing alongside his younger brother Sam and their parents and sister were in the Principality Stadium.
[ Connacht stick it out against Benetton to take bonus-point winOpens in new window ]
“Yeah, that was the immediate thought – that it was going to be such a special day for the family and that’s probably what killed me the most.”
Hence this game is also a timely antidote to that disappointment, although the bottom line is that it’s an interpro.
“We’ve had some really good battles against Munster over the last few years since I’ve been here and it’s an interpro. Interpros are always exciting, they’re fun to play in, especially an interpro at home, with Castlebar being our home this week. You can’t not get excited about it.”
