Doubt it. If we lose, it'll be because the pack gets over powered. Prendergast was key to Ireland's attack this 6Ns and has been solid for Leinster in that regard.
Prendergast is, quite easily, the best 10 we've had since Sexton last played for Leinster. If we lose - which we well might - it won't be because of him.
Leinster have lost finals with Sexton and Byrne at 10, so even if we completely ignore the Prendergast Derangement Syndrome running rampant down south, this is a nonsensical take, kiddo.
Also not surprising to see everything under the sun being done to deflect from 7 missed tackles.
Look, over there!!
10's can miss tackles. They're frequently the most targeted players on the pitch. It happens.
Munster struggled in attack yesterday through a failure of basic skills in the lineout and with their handling/passing in pressure moments. That's the bigger issue and it's one Crowley isn't immune from either. Thought he had a poor enough game in that aspect. Line kicking was good though.
There was a legitimate point to be made about Crowley’s defensive performance yesterday. But that’s not what you did.
You picked one game to compare him to Prendergast. And are now complaining when people… do the exact same thing? Ya…
My reply was - I thought obviously - meant facetiously.
Why? Because one game in isolation doesn’t tell us anything about any player, let alone by comparison with another.
But I’m pretty certain any examination of the stats over a reasonable sample size will show Crowley as a better defender.
For example, he, last week, was the joint highest tackler in the game. The Ulster game during the season, he made 18 tackles. That’s kinda nuts for a 10.
I’d be willing to bet Prendergast could go his entire career without making that many tackles in a single game. (And that’s fine; it’s not the primary thing you want from your 10)
But also a large part of the reason for why he has higher tackle numbers is because of where he’s entrusted to defend from.
All of that is part of a larger, good-faith discussion when comparing Crowley and Prendergast. But I don’t believe that’s why you posted what you did here.
I think both lads have shown improvement in areas of their game that were subpar previously. Crowley's kicking from hand has been better, particularly his line kicking. Prendergast showed some good instincts running with the ball on Friday, made a couple of breaks where he took the gap offered by the defense.
you leinster guys are hilarious…
he's the only weak link out of fridays 23.
but circle the wagons.
unfortunately I am am massive furlong fan, and I want him to win the Euro cup..
Some "weak link" alright…
There has been a lot of blinkered nonsense posted here in the last few weeks but this tops it.
Completely and utterly strange behaviour.
I genuinely think some fans on here and online just hold some sort of vendetta against Prendergast at this stage. How anyone can watch him and think he’s the weak link is astounding.
I think some are so overly or unrealistically positive that it invites negativity for a sense of balance , particularly where it’s a cross reference to Crowley
This is utterly not true!
Anyone who defends Prendergast are at pains to point out that they're not calling him world class or whatever. They're simply calling out the nonsense that some posters make when they're making him out to be completely sh*te. He's not sh*te, he's a very talented rugby player plying his trade and has had some really good games and some really difficult ones. On the whole, he has been fine. Nothing more, nothing less.
I'm sorry but for you to say some are overly or unrealistically positive is absolute horsesh*t. There are far more posters trying to pick any little needle-shaped hole they can find in his game and, for a supposed Leinster fan, I have never once seen you call any of those posters out.
I mean, this isn't exactly true either. There's literally a post in the Leinster thread today about how Prendergast is the best 10 in Ireland "and it's not even close".
Which has picked up some likes along the way including from, ironically… For Petes Sake.
In what way is that not "overly or unrealistically positive"?
Do you want me to go through some of the ridiculous posts that sh*t on him for you in response?
Or are you only focused on what one poster says?
When you acknowledge the level of sh*te that comes from his detractors, then we can start talking.
Otherwise, you're being disingenuous by nitpicking a post of mine which, I believe, is more than fair.
EDIT: If you must know, I liked that post because it was in response to absolute bullsh*t posted by someone who was only keen to cause trouble.
You think I couldn't produce the same for Crowley?
Or even some that are "overly or unrealistically positive" about Prendergast?
There's nonsense posted from both sides. Your suggestion that it's only coming from one direction is… lets go with "horsesh*t".
Crowley has had very good days and a fair number of meh to poor days, yet there isn’t the same level of criticism of him on here. Prendrrgast has generated a fair amount of resentment for unexpectedly quickly taking the jersey off him which was a done deal as far as the 6N goes. Desperate people were resorting to appeals about deserving and not deserving things which we all know is absolutely irrelevant in sport. It’s also harder for Crowley to make his case because Munster just aren’t as good as Leinster and he doesn’t get to marshal a spectacularly good team. On balance there’s not much between them putting unknowables like ‘ceilings’ aside, but Predergast is going to have more big games and more big wins for the foreseeable. That doesn’t help extinguish resentment.
You believe Crowley gets as much hatred (and that's exactly what it is) as Prendergast?
If you say 'yes', then you're either lying or you're not actually paying any attention.
It's painful watching people bend themselves over backwards to slate Prendergast even after he plays well.
Go back through my posts and find any post where I have slated Crowley disproportionately in my defence of Prendergast, and you'll see that I am not one of those very few.
Now, I feel you are attacking me rather than my posts, so I'm going to stop replying.
Good night.
It’s entirely legitimate to ask you if you think Prendergast has been “the best 10 in Ireland, and it’s not even close”.
Because that doesn’t at all tally with: “On the whole, he has been fine. Nothing more, nothing less.”
And completely disproves your assertion that “I'm sorry but for you to say some are overly or unrealistically positive is absolute horsesh*t.”
It’s literally the definition of overly and unrealistically positive.
I see you are incapable of answering my very simple question of who gets more disproportionate hatred.
Just as I suspected. Someone else not interested in having a conversation.
When you start calling out those who chat sh*te about Prendergast, I'll entertain what you have to say. However you're not. You're happy to let them do it.
For the OP to blather on like being overly and unrealistically positive about Prendergast is an overriding theme of this board is absolutely untrue. I'll stand by that.
Don't bother replying back to me unless you answer the very simple question I've asked above.
I would suggest that focusing on one comment by one person is not all that useful or indicative of the general conversation.
Mind you, focusing on one game where Crowley missed a lot of tackles to suggest there isnt a fairly massive gap in their defensive abilities is a bit silly also. I'd be shocked if SP ever reached his level defensively. It's a pretty corrosive way to argue anything and smacks of just pouncing on a chance to denigrate a player.
I think the criticism of SP is wildly over the top but he's also the starter so he's bound to get more. He can't do anything about playing behind the leinster pack except utilise that to its fullest which he is doing a very good job at.
The handbags in here is something else.
The most depressing thing about it is that from the age and talent profile, we've potentially got another 13 years of this ****.
Also, who the 10 was ranks fairly far down the list of the potential issues Ireland had this season.
I don't think either of them get disproportionate hatred on here; there's plenty of non-good-faith posts to go around from all angles these days, alas. Which is why I think portraying one side as squeaky-clean and the other as purveyors of "horsesh*t" is just plain wrong.
I also don't understand why you think anyone is obligated to "call out" anyone. Or why you need to use such emotive language; what kind of reaction do you expect?
I don't think Prendergast is as good a defender as Crowley, nor did I state that. The dogs in the street know it's an issue for Prendergast.
But if one guy is meant to be this great defender, and one of the reasons for picking him over the other guy is his tackling/defence, and he then goes and misses 7 tackles in a game, it puts a fair old dent in the argument for picking him.
It's like if Prendergast suddenly couldn't kick snow off a rope then similarly it would be a serious issue for the argument for selecting him, it's one of his USPs and one of the major reasons for picking him over Crowley.
Imagine Prendergast has an off day from the tee and someone posted this:
Prendergast down for a 46% kick success. I thought his point of difference was his kicking?
Would that be credible? Cos that’s exactly what you’re doing. If you had come in and said “Crowley with an unusually poor defensive performance this weekend, it’s normally his point of difference” I don’t think anyone would’ve had an issue.
I'm sure you'll write a thousand word essay about how it's in fact totally different but here's you doing the exact same thing.
Whatever about anything else, his first touch absolutely was an outstanding clearance kick. It was one of the best clearance kicks of the game. And I’d go as far as saying that every one of Crowley’s kicks from hand were better than all 3 of Prendergast’s kicks in the opening 10 minutes.And again, this is an area where, supposedly, Prendergast has the upper hand.
Whatever about anything else, his first touch absolutely was an outstanding clearance kick. It was one of the best clearance kicks of the game. And I’d go as far as saying that every one of Crowley’s kicks from hand were better than all 3 of Prendergast’s kicks in the opening 10 minutes.
And again, this is an area where, supposedly, Prendergast has the upper hand.
Aside from the completely subjective judgement of how good/bad/indifferent the kicks were, Prendergast didn't have an off day, oh no, he "supposedly has the upper hand" on Crowley when it comes to his kicking from hand.
So to answer your question, you certainly seem to think it's credible.
The full context being that was a discussion comparing Crowley and Prendergast in that individual game. I literally said as much earlier in the thread,:
To be fair, I was responding to a request to compare them exclusively on this game.
And engaged in the discussion and gave plenty of reasoning throughout the whole thread. For example:
The place kicking, the stats bear that out. Tho Prendergast showed character to respond and convert the most difficult of his 3.The kicking from hand is much more qualitative, naturally. But, especially early on, even Prendergast's long exit kicking looked aimless, and allowed England territory and field position. He rarely hit grass, iirc (tho I’d have to watch it back). Crowley’s had one or 2 too long also, but contestables seemed much more… contestable. Bear in mind this is one area that it was seen as Prendergast outright having the upper hand on Crowley.
The place kicking, the stats bear that out. Tho Prendergast showed character to respond and convert the most difficult of his 3.
The kicking from hand is much more qualitative, naturally. But, especially early on, even Prendergast's long exit kicking looked aimless, and allowed England territory and field position. He rarely hit grass, iirc (tho I’d have to watch it back). Crowley’s had one or 2 too long also, but contestables seemed much more… contestable. Bear in mind this is one area that it was seen as Prendergast outright having the upper hand on Crowley.
That's the context. That's literally the opposite of the exact same thing. The exact same thing would've been posting a 2-liner like the following:
Prendergast down for a 33% kick success. I thought his point of difference was his kicking?
(Word count: 192, I'm disappointed with myself).
Sure but it was one game. And he'll be far from the last player UBB make look a bit silly at time.
No matter what the strengths of a player they will have the odd game where it goes to pot. I don't think it's either indicative of much or really a fair way to comment on it.
Now in contrast I've completely changed my opinion on who is the stronger goal kicker.
Sooooooooooooo. Why did Ireland form drop during this Six Nations? Players all doing well following the conclusion of said competition. Coaching and tactics would be my assessment. Defence and Attack.
