JACK Crowley has passed his first audition as Ireland's new No 10.
The newly-crowned 2023 West Cork Sports Star of the Year stood tall at the Stade Velodrome as Ireland hammered France 38-17 in their Six Nations opener on Friday night.
On his first Six Nations start, and to be expected, there were a few nervy moments and questionable decisions, but the Bandon RFC prodigy grew into the game and showed the class and temperament that has marked him out as Johnny Sexton's replacement.
What a moment for Jack Crowley and his dad Fachtna after Ireland's win against France. pic.twitter.com/cm4iFYgIoT
— Kieran McCarthy (@KieranMcC_SS) February 2, 2024
Crowley finished with 13 points, slotting home an early penalty and nailing all five conversions including a couple of tricky kicks in the second half, as five-star Ireland took the French to task in their own backyard.
Speaking afterwards, head coach Andy Farrell liked what he saw from the Innishannon man, pointing out he'll benefit from the experience.
'He typifies exactly what we’re talking about,' Farrell. 'There’s no doubt that a young kid playing in a position like Jack is at ’10’ with the responsibility of that but then obviously all week, and rightly so, everyone was talking about how were we going to deal without having Johnny at the helm, and Jack was going to be the first one to have a shot at filling the shoes.
'I thought his composure at the line was great. He made some really nice decisions and some poor ones as well, and he’ll know that more than anyone else.
'The strength of character in regard to his goal-kicking when he missed the one in front, albeit from a longer distance, to then knock two on the trot over from the sideline showed immense character really.
'It’s a good start for him, it’s a good start for us as a team and hopefully he’ll get better and we’ll benefit from that as well.'
