JACK Crowley picked the right time to remind everyone just how good he is.
With the upcoming Six Nations campaign bringing the Crowley v Sam Prendergast battle for the Ireland No. 10 jersey back into the spotlight, the former Bandon RFC star showed everyone that he deserves his chance after a powerpacked display for Munster last weekend.
Crowley was immense as Munster picked up a losing bonus point away to Northampton (34-32) in the European Rugby Champions Cup last weekend – it means that Munster will be away to Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle in the round of 16 in early April.
By then we’ll have watched the Six Nations play out and know much more about the Crowley v Prendergast competition for the Ireland outhalf slot. Ahead of the opener against England on February 1st, Crowley looks to be finding form at the right time – his performance against Northampton sent a clear message to the Irish coaches.
This was his best performance of the season, the Innishannon man kicked well and drove Munster on, and almost set up a sensational last-gasp winning try with a gut-bursting run from deep. He kicked two penalties and three conversions in a head-turning display.
‘He was outstanding, he was excellent. Got our heart rates up at the end when he made that last break. All round he was really good. Puts him in a good position heading off into the Six Nations,’ Munster interim head coach Ian Costello said.
‘People are probably reading too much into it with Jack. He’s played a lot of rugby. Jack has been brilliant internally, he’s been driving the team. That was his best performance.’
Former Munster star Simon Zebo was another who was impressed by the West Cork man’s display ahead of the Six Nations.
‘He (Sam Prendergast) is a top-class operator and I love watching him play. He's got all the skills. But I still think Jack's the man with the jersey and rightly so after what he's done in a short space of time with not only Munster, but Ireland too and we're seeing it on full display today. His kicking's been excellent,’ Zebo said, and another former Munster man, Alan Quinlan, feels Crowley showed what makes him stand out as an outhalf.
‘It was really important for him. As a player you try to block out the noise from the outside and we don’t pay attention to it, but narratives can sometimes sway decisions,’ Quinlan said on Off The Ball AM.
‘Just for him personally, Munster are on the back foot, it was ebbing and flowing both ways and he had a really, really big performance. He showed he is a very physical flyhalf and that is a great advantage because we don’t see too many flyhalves in the game who are able for that physical stuff. The kick then at the end to bring it back to two points from the touchline, that’s probably the most important piece for him as an individual.’
