Donal Lenihan: Is Andy Farrell tempted to take another look at burgeoning talent  Prendergast?

The fact that Andy Farrell handed opportunities against Fiji to a handful of youngsters in Gus McCarthy, Cormac Izuchukwu, Sam Prendergast, Jamie Osborne, along with another outing for Thomas Clarkson and Cian Prendergast off the bench, offered plenty areas to capture the attention.

Couple those selections with the return to arms of Jacob Stockdale, the young hero of Ireland’s 2018 Grand Slam-winning side, and a chance for Ciaran Frawley to recover lost ground after his disastrous cameo against New Zealand provided even more discussion points.

Despite all that, the game I was most looking forward to was Australia’s visit to Edinburgh, especially with the IRFU’s 150th anniversary test against the Wallabies on the horizon. Could Joe Schmidt’s side maintain the progress made on tour to date or would a vastly improving Scottish team finally deliver when the expectations were greatest?

Let’s start with Ireland. When announcing his penultimate Irish selection before departing on his Lions sabbatical, Farrell made it very clear that for a number of the players it was a case of “opportunity knocks”.

Of the younger brigade, the player to emerge with most credit was debutant hooker Gus McCarthy. It’s hard to believe it’s less that two years since the 21-year-old led Blackrock College to a Leinster Schools Cup and is currently on a Leinster academy contract.

What his elevation highlights is, with the advanced physical development of schools players and with detailed individual S&C programs from an earlier age it’s now possible, even for a front five forward, to step up far quicker to the demands of international rugby than ever before.

Sometimes it comes down to opportunities. McCarthy, who made a big impression as Ireland U20 captain last season, got his courtesy of untimely injuries to Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher which opened a door for him with Leinster. The fact he not only lasted 80 minutes on Saturday but scored a try, gave the scoring pass for three others and finished the game in the back row, is an extraordinary achievement.

It helped his cause that all the focus was on Sam Prendergast coming into the game. Even when his first line out delivery was harshly adjudged crooked, he refused to let that setback impact on his performance in any way. That tells you a lot.

If McCarthy displayed an impressive level of composure early on, the manner in which Prendergast coped with the most challenging of situations in his first international start displayed even greater levels of that key trait. Make no mistake his high hit on Kitione Salawa eight minutes in would have been a straight red card up to last season. Recently it seems the officials look for more mitigating circumstances to downgrade those offences, meaning Prendergast was very lucky not to have his upgraded to red on the TMO review.

That incident would have rattled a lesser man. Can you imagine what was going through his head as he sat in the naughty boy's chair on the side of the pitch with the entire focus of the stadium on him as he waited for the TMO’s verdict. No wonder he had a few iffy moments on his return.

His display over the remaining 62 minutes only served to confirm what we suspected all along. He has all the tools, most especially the vision and spacial awareness to play at this level, even more so with the Fijian’s intent on landing as many big hits on him as possible.

The fact that Frawley, his potential second half replacement, was pressed into action before the half hour mark when Osborne was forced off injured, left Prendergast in the comfortable position of knowing that, barring a disaster, he was going to finish out the game.

The fact Ireland’s attack flowed seamlessly and dismantled a seriously indisciplined Fijian defensive effort highlighted the silky handling skills and decision-making ability that will make Prendergast a serious contender for the Irish No 10 shirt for years to come.

That said, he has a road to travel yet. I’d be very surprised if Jack Crowley isn’t handed the shirt for the Australian game on Saturday even if there are some rumblings that Farrell may take the opportunity to have another look at Prendergast.

That would be harsh on Crowley who was superb before being called ashore against Argentina. Having been omitted from the match day squad for the first time since Johnny Sexton’s departure, the Innishannon man be champing at the bit to take the reigns once again on Saturday.

The challenge for Farrell is to minimise the pressure on his two key playmakers by reminding Crowley he has nothing to prove to either him or his teammates. What Prendergast needs to accelerate his development is a regular starting slot for Leinster, not only in the URC but in the four Champions Cup pool games they will contest between now and Ireland’s upcoming Six Nations campaign.

Up front we saw glimpses of the pace and athleticism the other debutant Izuchukwu brings to bear but, unfortunately for him, he found it difficult to impose himself on the game and lacked the trademark big moments we see on a regular basis with Ulster. He was one of the unlucky ones to have a try cancelled for a forward pass but we’ve seen enough of him at this stage to know that he has a big future ahead him and will receive further opportunities.

Despite only lasting 30 minutes, once again, Osborne made his mark. Given the quality available to Ireland in midfield with Bundee Aki, Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose already contending for two slots, Osborne may well come into consideration at full back for the Six Nations.

With blocking being eliminated in protecting the catcher and teams contesting more vigorously than ever before in the kick/chase, having a big man with proven aerial qualities at the back will become even more fashionable, hence Freddie Steward’s recall for England against South Africa.

Hugo Keenan has been superb since taking stewardship of the No 15 shirts a few seasons ago but, with the latest tweak in interpretation and the impact he made at full back in South Africa last July, Osborne becomes a viable alternative. Unfortunately injury rules him out of contention this weekend meaning Keenan is certain to start.

Given Stockdale’s lack of opportunities in recent seasons, last Saturday was a huge game for him. While his work rate off the ball is vastly improved and he made some threatening runs, a failure to give the pass on two occasions cost Ireland at least one try. That will count against him.

As for the Wallabies, having been impressed by their much-improved performances against England and Wales, I was surprised with how they struggled to get their attack going against a very well drilled Scottish defence on Sunday. It didn’t help their cause that new midfield sensation Joesph Sua’ali’i was forced off injured after making a bone-crunching hit on Scottish captain Simone Tuipolotu before half time.

Australia lost their way after that and didn’t register a single try until the 75th minute. Overall, I expected them to bring more to that contest. Talk of a Grand Slam proved premature, saving me a nostalgic journey down memory lane given I played against the outstanding 1984 side on three occasions, for Munster, Ireland and the Barbarians, on their classic 18-match tour. More on the current tourists on Saturday.

Other than that, I look forward to seeing what influence the opening three games of the campaign has had on Farrell’s final selection for a while and who, if any, of the new caps make the match day squad.