{"id":299247,"date":"2026-01-23T10:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T10:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/299247\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T10:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T10:05:08","slug":"its-a-privilege-to-compete-with-your-brother-at-the-highest-level-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/299247\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s a privilege to compete with your brother at the highest level\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cian Prendergast gets it now. By his own admission, he didn\u2019t always. But now in his sixth season after joining the Connacht<\/a> academy in 2020 and approaching his 96th cap for the province and in his second season as captain, he\u2019s long since realised that representing Connacht and the west of Ireland is unique.<\/p>\n

There have been some legendary Connacht captains over the years \u2013 Ciar\u00e1n Fitzgerald, Eric Elwood and John Muldoon to name just three. And it isn\u2019t lost on Prendergast that he will have the honour of leading out the team from the new Clan Stand in front of an expanded 12,500 capacity against Leinster<\/a> at the Dexcom Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 5.30pm). <\/p>\n

Putting into context the pride he will feel given the magnitude of a record crowd for a rugby match in Galway, the 25-year-old Kildare man began with a candid admission.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, with Connacht and the Sportsground, I think it\u2019s something that I never fully understood when I joined. I thought I understood but I\u2019m still figuring it out, how amazing this place is and how special the people are, because the west of Ireland is different.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that I\u2019ll never take for granted and it\u2019s something that I\u2019ll constantly be figuring out and trying to live up to, because the people deserve a Connacht team that embodies the history of the west of Ireland. But also one that they can truly see themselves in and I think for us that\u2019s what we\u2019re looking to deliver on Saturday. We\u2019re going to give it everything that we can to deliver that.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the honour comes an added sense of responsibility, for the chosen 23 players especially.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve spoken about it as a group, that it\u2019s an incredible privilege the 23 that are going to get to play in this game, but also with that comes the responsibility not only to the playing group but also to the whole province and the people that support us that are abroad and the people that will be watching on TV.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause there\u2019s nothing like the Clan Stand when an interpro is happening and we get rolling and we\u2019re playing good rugby and you\u2019re seeing a Connacht team that fights and does the kind of unglamorous stuff.<\/p>\n

\"DexcomDexcom Stadium in Galway. Photograph: James Crombie\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cThen off the back of that we can start playing our kind of rugby and I\u2019m sure the Connacht supporters are going to bring it 10 times over with this occasion. And I\u2019m buzzing for it. I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only three weeks ago, in the last round of URC<\/a> matches, Leinster pulled clear to win 52-17 with 33 unanswered second-half points. But Prendergast has reasons to believe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the people we\u2019ve got in the group. I think it\u2019s the coaching ticket. I think ultimately it\u2019s Stu [Stuart Lancaster<\/a>], our leader. We back each other, we\u2019ve had honest conversations with each other after losses and said that we know what we\u2019re doing is right and we know that how we\u2019re training is good.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Stuart Lancaster aiming to kickstart Connacht\u2019s new era with roof-raising victoryOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that we\u2019re pushing each other hard, we know we\u2019re being honest with each other, it\u2019s just pounding the rock and trusting what we\u2019re doing. It\u2019s allowing the occasion to bring that out of you now because that\u2019s what this team deserves and that\u2019s what the place deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Connacht-Leinster rivalry also has a unique flavour due to so much crossover, and especially Leinster players moving west or Connacht players staying put despite playing with Dublin clubs. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a rivalry that even divides families such as, of course, the Prendergasts, and it was noticeable how both Cian and younger brother Sam were so animated in the Aviva derby three weeks ago.<\/p>\n

While some players, such as Sam Prendergast<\/a> and Jamison Gibson-Park, might be rested, Leo Cullen has had enough bloody noses as a player and a coach out west to ensure Leinster will travel with a strong team.<\/p>\n

Either way, Prendergast said there is little dialogue between the two brothers in weeks such as this.<\/p>\n

\"ConnachtConnacht captain Cian Prendergast. Photograph: Tom Maher\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the start of the week we just wish each other best of luck and then it\u2019s on to business because it\u2019s a weird one, you have to separate the family nature with the competitive side of it. We wouldn\u2019t be in much contact in these weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their parents, Ciara and Mark, must be having a blast, what with consecutive weekends in Montpellier, Bayonne and Galway. Asked if weeks such as this were difficult, Prendergast quipped: \u201cYeah but they\u2019re Connacht fans so it\u2019s not that difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides, as he\u2019ll presumably be hosting them this weekend, they won\u2019t have any choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t confirm or deny that! But we\u2019ve been dreaming about this stuff since we were kids and to get to play each other on occasions like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether he\u2019s playing or not, I don\u2019t know, I honestly don\u2019t know and he doesn\u2019t know if I\u2019m playing, it\u2019s an incredible privilege and to be able to compete with your brother at the highest level is something we\u2019ll never take for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week, Connacht take a giant stride forward in their 140-year plus history. They have long since had to hone certain traits in punching above their weight.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The winners and losers after Andy Farrell selects Ireland Six Nations squadOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately the people of the west of Ireland are incredibly defiant,\u201d said Prendergast when asked about those traits. \u201cI think it\u2019s a funny thing with the Clan Stand, there\u2019s always a massive roar when tries go in but nothing sets the crowd alight when the defence have set a goal-line stand, or a chase back on a line break, or a chase on a kick chase to block the kick down. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when you really feel what the crowd wants and what the people love to see. So in a small way that\u2019s how I would sum it up but there\u2019s way more things you could use to describe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gets it all right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cian Prendergast gets it now. By his own admission, he didn\u2019t always. But now in his sixth season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[23199,18,19,17,12861,40692,132,23201,42271],"class_list":{"0":"post-299247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-connacht-rugby","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-leinster-rugby","13":"tag-sam-prendergast","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-stuart-lancaster","16":"tag-united-rugby-championship"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115943854833196661","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}