There cannot have been any prouder parents in the Allianz Stadium in Sydney in the aftermath of Ireland’s thrilling 33-31 win over Australia than Ciara and Mark Prendergast. And rarely can the expense of a long-haul trip have been better value.Mother and father had been in Paris on the only previous occasion in which their sons, Cian and Sam, had started a rugby match together, namely last February’s Six Nations opener when Ireland were beaten 36-14. Otherwise, the only time their sons have been on the same team in any rugby match at any level was for the last half-hour of Ireland’s 52-17 win over Fiji in November last year when Sam started and Cian came on before the 50-minute mark.Both parents, who are former high-ranking officers in the Irish Defence Forces, were also in Cardiff last year when their sons had been picked in the same match-day 23. Alas Cian, again named as a replacement, withdrew on the morning of Ireland’s 27-18 win when Sam kicked 17 points.But finally it came to pass last Saturday that the two brothers started together in an Irish win, as Sam kicked the 78th-minute match-winning conversion. Asked what was going through his mind as he addressed that conversion, the Irish outhalf said: “Just hit the ball through the right hand side, just make sure not to miss it left. I was pretty calm to be honest. There was still a bit of time left. I was just trying to keep the kick straight.”His fist pump after nailing the conversion reflected how much winning meant to him and his team in front of so many Irish fans abroad. “It was brilliant. I’ve never been to Australia before but I love it and in the last few weeks I’ve seen the amount of Irish people here. I bumped into someone who’s from my hometown and they were chatting with my parents.Ireland’s Sam Prendergast at the Allianz Stadium, Sydney, in the Nations Championship. Photograph: Ben Brady/INPHO “Even Zombie was playing at the end. It’s class to see how many people are over here and how much of a good time they’re having.”And while 14 of this squad were in Australia for last summer’s Lions tour, Prendergast is one of 22 who are playing here for the first time, so whetting the appetite for next year’s World Cup.“The lads described it as a bit like the last World Cup where there were just so many Irish there,” he said.Having their parents among the capacity crowd and talking to them on the side of the pitch afterwards made the night additionally special. “I suppose my parents are just mental. They don’t miss a game. They hadn’t said they were going to come over but when the squad got announced and we were both going on the summer tour they decided to go. “I wouldn’t say the novelty has worn off at all because we obviously don’t play together in the province, we haven’t played together a whole pile and we’d never played together before we played for Ireland. It still takes a little bit of getting used to as well, as in you have your brother beside you. There’s little moments that are pretty cool.”Prendergast struck the ball sweetly off the new tee that he adopted after the Six Nations and also out of hand, as typified by one of his signature spiral bombs early in the second-half and a trademark penalty from halfway to within five metres of the corner flag in the prelude to Thomas Clarkson’s 77th minute try. Ultimately his goal-kicking, on a night when each scored five tries but he landed four from five compared to Australia’s three from seven, was critical. Jamison Gibson-Park celebrates with Hugo Keenan and Tadhg Furlong after scoring Ireland's third try against Australia. Photograph: Ben Brady/INPHO His game management, choosing when to pass and when to kick, was on point and superior to his counterpart Carter Gordon. For all Carter’s running skills, elusiveness and equally brilliant passing, his management of the game is a work in progress. Given the near even split in possession, this was reflected in Ireland having 57 per cent of the territory.That is why Andy Farrell has invested in the younger Prendergast so much. By contrast, Gordon had little experience when he was handed the outhalf jersey for Australia’s failed World Cup campaign in 2023 and then jettisoned before a segue into rugby league and injuries further curtailed his development. The net effect is that the 23-year-old Prendergast was winning his 17th cap last Saturday whereas Gordon, at 25, was earning his 10th.Prendergast was the fulcrum of that brilliantly concocted Jamison Gibson-Park try in first-half overtime, a six-phase attack off a scrum on the Irish 22 in which 11 players touched the ball, with the outhalf making five of the 17 passes. “We had a look at the set-up off the scrum, it looked like we could attack. And then to be fair, they adjusted well and they actually brought up their backfield. But we went through the phases well, the forwards got set quickly,” he said. “I think that comes from the coaches, in the way they want us to play the game, the way they see the game. I think kicking it out isn’t really an option there when you’ve got a good attacking opportunity.”[ Reaction: Ireland squeeze home against AustraliaOpens in new window ]There are always going to be ups and downs with young outhalves. So it is that Prendergast lost his place in first the Irish squad for the last three rounds of the Six Nations and then Leinster’s Champions Cup knockout games.But the way he has rebounded in first guiding Leinster to the retention of their URC title and then Saturday is testimony to the young man’s resilience and self-belief.In some respects, last Saturday’s roller coaster was his “up and down” season in microcosm. “Yeah, it was patchy,” he said. “We were poor in the first half, as in I felt like we were good at times and I feel like that was my performance as well. I was good at times, bad at times; a bad intercept, a couple of missed tackles. “I’m just pleased that we were able to just stick it out as a team and individually that I was able to just keep going and then able to come away with a win.”Join our Irish Times Rugby WhatsApp communityGet the best of our writing in the Irish Times rugby community (©INPHO/Henry Simpson/©INPHO/Henry Simpson) Join our Irish Times Rugby WhatsApp community and get our best rugby writing sent directly to your messages inbox. From provincial news to coverage of Ireland’s inaugural Nations Championship campaign, you won’t miss an update. Join here: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DaV5S7cDxWF0xDDILjarcw