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The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Leinster coach Tyler Bleyendaal reveals ‘skill error' Sam Prendergast must improve for URC final against Bulls
LEINSTER coach Tyler Bleyendaal has backed Sam Prendergast to rediscover his shooting boots ahead of the URC final against the Bulls. Although Prendergast weighed in with seven points as the Blues Advertisement 2 The Leinster number 10 had a poor day from the tee by his standards 2 The former Munster out-half is looking to help guide Leinster to URC glory Nevertheless, it is anticipated the Kildare native's name will once again be included in the Leinster XV when they take on the South Africans in the decider at GAA HQ this Saturday. And assistant coach Bleyendaal — who previously lined out in the No 10 jersey for the vast majority of his 62 outings for Munster between 2015 and 2020 — said he is happy with the progress of the 22-year-old Ireland international, who made his debut for Leinster in April 2022. He said: 'I actually thought 'His goal-kicking maybe was one skill error, but the way he led the team around, I thought, was great. Advertisement Read more on Irish sport 'The stats showed that we played well and we applied a lot of pressure. 'I think a lot of that is from Sam's leadership on the field. 'He is probably one of his harshest critics. It's getting him back into the plan for this week, take the learnings. 'He has been engaged and he's looking to get a plan in place along with the other game drivers. Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union 'I'm enjoying Sam and how he operates. I'm sure he's still learning but he's a competitor.' With the likes of Saracens and La Rochelle proving to have been bogey teams for the province during the knockout stages of the European Champions Cup, Leinster have also suffered considerable heartache against the Bulls at the business end of the URC. 'Big weekend' - Peter O'Mahony embarking on hectic gardening project as he aims to add '300 plants' After losing to the South African outfit in a semi-final encounter at the RDS in June 2022, Leinster also fell short against Jake White's men There was another Advertisement And with their European disappointments also thrown into the mix, it has been four years since Leinster last lifted a major piece of silverware. That triumph was the 2021 PRO14 final against Munster with Ross Byrne and Cian Healy both playing starring roles in the 16-6 victory. However, the experienced duo are among those who are set to depart the set-up at the end of the present campaign. And Bleyendaal believes a win in Croker this weekend would serve as a fitting send-off for the pair. Advertisement The former All Black underage star continued: 'I think the importance of the occasion, we're excited to be in a grand final. 'We want a send-off, there's a lot of good people in our club moving on. 'We understand we haven't performed in the knockouts. 'There is a lot of motivation from inside, which at some stage you just have to trust that you're going to perform at the level you need to. Advertisement 'As coaches, we'll have a plan of which direction we think we need to go to get that out. 'Come the end of the season, most of the work has been done and we're just trying to get the plan in place.'
The 42
2 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
'I thought Sam played a good match... he's his harshest critic.'
LEINSTER ATTACK COACH Tyler Bleyendaal has backed out-half Sam Prendergast to continue driving the team from the number 10 shirt and bounce back from a frustrating goal-kicking display in the URC semi-final. 22-year-old Prendergast has established himself as Leinster's first-choice out-half this season, starting all of their knock-out games, and is expected to continue in that role for this weekend's URC final against the Bulls in Croke Park. Prendergast missed a few tackles in the semi-final win over Glasgow and was also inaccurate off the tee with five missed shots at goal. The Kildare man contributed some strong kicking from hand, as well as guiding Leinster towards a six-try haul in their 37-19 victory. Those are the kind of qualities that Bleyendaal focused on as he backed Prendergast. 'I actually thought Sam on the weekend played a good match,' said Bleyendaal ahead of the URC decider against the Bulls. 'His goal-kicking maybe was one skill error, but the way he led the team around, I thought, was great. The stats showed that we played well and we applied a lot of pressure and I think a lot of that is from Sam's leadership on the field. 'He is probably one of his harshest critics, it's getting him back into the plan for this week, take the learnings. He has been engaged and he's looking to get a plan in place along with the other game drivers. Advertisement 'I'm enjoying Sam and how he operates and I'm sure he's still learning, but he's a competitor.' Prendergast at Leinster training yesterday. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO Prendergast has played 23 times for Leinster and Ireland this season, with only six of those appearances coming in the URC regular season. The majority of his games have come on higher-profile, higher-stakes occasions. That has led to fears in some quarters that Prendergast has been pushed into prominent positions with Ireland and Leinster too soon, but Bleyendaal doesn't agree. 'I don't think there's any ill effects, I think he's getting through the season fine,' said Bleyendaal. 'I don't look at him and think he's getting beaten up or he's slowing down. I feel like he turns up every week, he's got good energy and he's young, I think he recovers well. 'The pleasing thing to see is that he puts in the work during the week and he goes out and backs himself on the weekend.' 35-year-old Bleyendaal is a former out-half who captained the New Zealand U20s before breaking into the Canterbury and Crusaders set-up as a youngster, so he understands some of the pressures Prendergast is now facing. He also appreciates how goal-kicking accuracy can sometimes desert the players tasked with that job. 'Jeez, being a kicker myself and sometimes you have a bad day,' said Bleyendaal. 'Sometimes you have a rubbish warm-up, a great game. Sometimes you have a great warm-up, a rubbish game. But he was back to work today kicking a lot of balls. As far as I'm aware, he wasn't kicking yesterday, but you never know, he might have been at home nudging a few. Prendergast had a frustrating day off the tee. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO 'Like I said, he puts in the work, prepares well. He's his harshest critic, but he's got a great work-rate. This week is another week. He's enjoying engaging with the planning of the week and putting in his own skill development as well.' Prendergast has taken over from the experienced Ross Byrne as Leinster's first-choice number 10 this season, with the latter set for a move to English club Gloucester this summer. Byrne is one of a number of players that Leinster hope to send off with a winner's medal this weekend. 'There's Ross, there's Church [Cian Healy], there's a lot of people in there who have played their last game, are playing their last game and are moving on, management as well,' said Bleyendaal. 'There's a lot of people at this club who have been here longer than I have who have experienced lows and a lot of success, this is our opportunity to try and perform well, get another trophy and send them off well.'
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Leinster coach backing Sam Prendergast ahead of Bulls final
Sam Prendergast remains in pole position to start at no10 for Leinster against Bulls in the URC Grand Final at Croke Park on Saturday. Assistant Coach Tyler Bleyendaal, a former All Black U20 World Cup winning out-half himself. was quick to praise the incumbent Leinster no10 for his performance against Glasgow in the semi-final. "I actually thought Sam on the weekend played a good match," said Bleyendaal yesterday, "his goal-kicking maybe was one skill-error but the way he led the team around, I thought, was great. "The stats showed that we played well and we applied a lot of pressure and I think a lot of that is from Sam's leadership on the field. He is probably one of his harshest critics, it's getting him back into the plan for this week, take the learnings. "He has been engaged and he's looking to get a plan in place along with the other game drivers, I'm enjoying Sam and how he operates and I'm sure he's still learning, but he's a competitor." Bleyendaal captained the winning New Zealand U20s at the 2010 IRB Junior World Championship in Argentina and made his debut for Crusaders against Blues in 2012 at Eden Park, the first of a spell of 21 games where he posted 111 points all told between 2012-14 for the club. A not altogether dissimilar experience, young and at the coalface, to what Prendergast is going through at the moment. "Yeah, any of my own experiences is something I can draw on because I've been through them. Even some of the things that haven't gone well for me, you can share those experiences, but it doesn't mean that Sam operates in the same way. "So he's going to go about his business. It's getting his game and leadership style aligned with the plan we want to go forward with. On the most part, he's doing a pretty good job." Prendergast, he says, is coping well with his 23 games to date this season - eight URC, seven Champions Cup, five Six Nations and three Autumn Series which breaks down as 20 starts and three appearances as a sub. "I think he's getting through the season fine, don't think there's any ill effects. I don't look at him and think he's getting beaten up or he's slowing down. "I feel like he turns up every week, he's got good energy and he's young, I think he recovers well. The pleasing thing to see is that he puts in the work during the week and he goes out and backs himself on the weekend." Prendergast's place-kicking was poor last week but that was unusual. "Jeez, being a kicker myself and sometimes you have a bad day," continues Bleyendaal suggesting that, for kickers, the slate is wiped on Monday mornings, they are used to going again, picking up the threads. "Sometimes you have a rubbish warm-up, a great game. Sometimes you have a great warm-up, a rubbish game. But he was back to work today, kicking a lot of balls. "As far as I'm aware, he wasn't kicking yesterday, but you never know, he might have been at home nudging a few. Like I said, he puts in the work, prepares well. "He's his harshest critic, but he's got a great work-rate. This week is another week. He's enjoying engaging with the planning of the week and putting in his own skill development as well." The post-Leinster review indicators are that Prendergast will remain at no10 while Gloucester-bound Ross Byrne, who came on for the last quarter, will remain as back up. "Ross is an experienced player, he's been in a lot of those situations and I think he enjoys that part of the game with the play-calling, the in-play management of the game, he's a great asset to have. "It's a different dynamic to Sam, but I thought he played well when he came on against Glasgow. "There's a few leaving at the end of the season Ross, there's Church (Cian Healy), there's a lot of people in there who have played their last game, or will be playing their last game and are moving on and that's why I said the motivation for what we want to do and play for is there. "There's a lot of people at this club who have been here longer than I have who have experienced lows and a lot of success, this is our opportunity to try and perform well, get another trophy and send them off well." Ciaran Frawley is Leinster's third option in the out-half but it might be significant that he was brought in for Jordie Barrett last weekend while, two minutes later, Byrne was brought in for Prendergast. Frawley has started six games for the Blues at no10 this season, Dragons, Munster and Connacht last November, Ospreys in February, Sharks in March and Ulster in April. At the same time Leinster have employed the six-two bench split three times since Christmas with Frawley as the utility back/no23 in the last two, Bulls in Pretoria in March and Scarlets in the Aviva in April." Whatever about the no10 slot, there is no doubt the out-half will be playing outside Jamison Gibson-Park with Luke McGrath taking a spot on the bench regardless of whether it is a five-three or six-two split. Continues Bleyendaal: "They're definitely different and so are all of our 10s. They all have different strengths, offer in different ways both in voice, skillset, actions. "If you pair them up with Jamo, they'll still be themselves. You can't mould them into each other. "Scrum-half, I think Lukey provides that calm and experience and has the ability to snipe, attacking game. With our young No 9s that played during the season, they offer something different. "It's just when they all come together, what the combination is, it's about how they fit into what the team is trying to do. As coaches, that is what we've to try and guide and direct."
The Irish Sun
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Tyler Bleyendaal admits Leinster changing approach for remainder of URC campaign after learning Northampton lesson
TYLER BLEYENDAAL insists Leinster will attack the URC with minimal rotation and full-strength sides every week. Leinster wrap up their regular season this Saturday when they host Glasgow at the Aviva Stadium before going into quarter-final action at the end of the month. Advertisement Already assured of a No 1 seeding, But attack coach Bleyendaal and the Blues are still reeling from the The decision to leave But having followed up that defeat by Advertisement Read More On Irish Sport And he acknowledged that is also because they have next week off, having failed to reach the Champions Cup final for the first time in four years. He said: 'The difference from past seasons is having the week off next week. It almost allows you to go stronger. "Some guys will need rest and rotation. Other guys will come in to freshen up. Other guys we want for continuity. 'There will be a real balance around the selection but we know we've got a match, a weekend off and then we're into the play-offs.' Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union And he highlighted how the 12 Leinster players selected by the Lions last week will be out to show their best form after the Champions Cup woe. Bleyendaal added: 'It is great for Leinster. I don't think one poor performance should define those players and the season they've had. Shocking moment enormous brawl breaks out in rubgy league after 'horrendous hit' 'Everyone was really pumped for them. The players will say themselves they don't want to take away from what Leinster are trying to do. 'But it is a massive achievement. It brought energy to the weekend and the match. There is a real drive from those guys to perform for Leinster.' Advertisement He admitted Saturday's URC victory over the Italians has not eased the pain of the Northampton loss. He said: 'It was a disappointing result and a tough week for everyone. 'Everyone was feeling the pain and then we had the Zebre match to prepare for. 'It was low energy for a bit but it was nice to get back to take your mind off things and put your frustrations and disappointments aside. 'We just didn't have a good performance on a number of levels and we spoke honestly about that, the players spoke honestly. There was a real hunger to bounce back. Advertisement 'The players have spoken of how they have had losses in Europe in the past and bounced back but then not been able to carry on with that momentum. 'So that's where we're at, preparing for Glasgow after a decent performance at the weekend and the challenge for us is to build on our own momentum through the things we can do well.' 1 The 34-year-old insists one letdown showing shouldn't definte their season Leinster have often struggled after European defeats, losing to the Bulls in semi-finals in 2022 and 2024. Advertisement They were knocked out by bitter rivals Munster the week before the 2023 European final when they fielded a weakened team with the Champions Cup in mind. Bleyendaal added: 'The reality is there are many hungry teams trying to win the URC at the moment as well. We don't feel entitled or anything. 'We're going to have to work hard, we're going to have to be committed and try to learn and develop as a team.'
The 42
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'There's many hungry teams trying to win the URC. We don't feel entitled or anything'
AFTER PREVIOUSLY COMING up short in the competition following difficult defeats in the Investec Champions Cup, Leinster are hoping the next few weeks will see them going a couple of steps further in the United Rugby Championship. While their European final defeat to La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium on 20 May two seasons ago arrived seven days on from a URC semi-final exit to Munster in the same venue, the eastern province were still in contention for league honours in the wake of their Champions Cup showpiece reversals in 2022 (La Rochelle) and 2024 (Toulouse). Although Leo Cullen's men initially bounced back in the URC games that followed those losses, their league campaigns in both seasons were ultimately ended by the Bulls in the final four. Leinster responded to their recent Champions Cup semi-final defeat against Northampton Saints with a comprehensive win over Zebre that guarantees they will remain on home soil for the duration of their URC knockout campaign. Tyler Bleyendaal joined the province as an assistant coach for the start of the current season and while he senses a determination in the squad to make amends for previous disappointments, he also understands this is easier said than done. 'The players have spoken of how they have had losses in Europe in the past and bounced back, but then not been able to carry on with that momentum. So that's where we're at, preparing for Glasgow after a decent performance at the weekend and the challenge for us is to build on our own momentum through the things we can do well,' Bleyendaal remarked ahead of their round 18 clash with Glasgow Warriors on Saturday. 'The reality is there are many hungry teams trying to win the URC at the moment as well. We don't feel entitled or anything. We're going to have to work hard, we're going to have to be committed. Try to learn and develop as a team and perform better ultimately.' Advertisement In between their surprising European loss to Northampton and a 76-5 hammering of a lowly Zebre in the URC, there was Thursday's British & Irish Lions squad announcement which saw Andy Farrell selecting no fewer than 12 players from Leinster for the forthcoming tour of Australia. While the news about the Lions directly followed their underwhelming display against the Saints, Bleyendaal believes it was only right that those who made the cut from the province were judged on their overall performances throughout the season. He also feels the Leinster players who have been selected for Lions duty will be able to place that trip to Australia at the back of their minds for the time being. 'It's a great achievement for the players who made the squad and everyone is excited and happy. The players will say themselves they don't want to take away from what Leinster are trying to do. They don't want that limelight. 'It's a massive achievement, it did bring energy to the weekend and the match we played. I still feel there is a real drive from those guys to perform for Leinster. I don't think their minds are working too far ahead, which is good for us. 'It's great for Leinster. I don't think one poor performance should define those players and the season they've had, because they have performed really well and deserved their spot. Everyone was really pumped for them.' Meanwhile, Bleyendaal was thrilled Leinster were able to welcome back a fit-again James Ryan in Saturday's demolition of Zebre. James Ryan returned from injury last weekend. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO Having previously been sidelined for several weeks after sustaining a calf injury in training at the beginning of April, the towering Ireland international (included in the Lions squad last week) returned to competitive action as a 50th minute replacement against the Italians and is in line for a starting berth in their final regular round fixture at home to Glasgow. 'It was great to have JR back. He had been slowly tipping away and being diligent with his rehab. It's good to get him out for a run and he seemed to come off the field with no ill effects from the injury, which is great,' Bleyendaal added. 'I'd say he's pretty hungry to get out there and try and, maybe not run around the field, but run into bodies and tackle bodies. He enjoys that contact side of things. It's exciting.'
