Leinster look to still be without scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park ahead of this weekend’s interpro clash with Munster.
The Ireland and Lions star has yet to feature this season as he recovers from a groin injury, with academy duo Fintan Gunne and Oliver Coffey deputising at the start of the campaign.
Gibson-Park has been in training, but Attack Coach Tyler Bleyendaal said he’s still not at 100%. ‘Jamison is not training fully, but he is back,’ the former Munster out-half explained on Monday after Leinster thrashed Clermont Auvergne in their Champions Cup opener.
‘He was back involved today, and he did a little bit last week as well, (but) he’s really just seeing how he feels at the end of the week, before we make a decision.
‘He was out there today running around, which is a positive sign I think, but it’s one of those where it has to be assessed probably a bit closer to the time.’
His usual half-back partner Sam Prendergast has started the season well. After breaking onto the scene initially, Prendergast suffered a dip in form around 12 months ago, but now, after a strong finish to last season, the Kildare native is back playing some of his best rugby.
‘He’s just had a different haircut!’ Bleyendaal exclaimed when asked about Prendergast’s newfound form.
‘He’s still young, he’s probably just maturing. He’s looking definitely a bit bigger, but I think he’s still very mobile; he’s getting fast. He’s looking well and moving well.’
He added about Prendergast’s dip in form last year: ‘I don’t know about below a level, but he maybe just had really good performances that he wanted to stay at or maintain. Maybe there were a few ups and downs around his quality of execution at times. Again, it’s that maturity thing.
‘He gets thrown into the fire; he has played a lot of big matches for club and country, and I guess he’s learning through all those big matches.
‘He has only played a handful of matches this year, but I think he is looking improved and confident. He’ll be wanting to maintain that and then continue to grow.’
Leinster and Munster face off for the first time this season at the Aviva Stadium this Saturday, October 24, with kick-off at 6pm, and you can watch it live on Premier Sports.
