TWENTY-TWO minutes – that’s all it took for Jack Crowley to remind everyone that he is Ireland’s best option for No. 10 right now. And, as Ronan O’Gara says, that ‘the kid has balls’.
Overlooked for a starting spot, as new kid on the block Sam Prendergast was given the nod in the Six Nations opener against England, Crowley’s reaction to the setback is an insight into his rise from Bandon RFC to the oxygen-sapping heights of international rugby where only the elite survive.
The decision to start Prendergast over Crowley was harsh on the Innishannon man, but he didn’t sulk. Instead, he made sure the best version of himself was ready when the call came – and he delivered.
Replacing Prendergast, who endured a tough baptism in his Six Nations debut, after 58 minutes, there was an edge to Crowley. He was a man on a mission: to show why he should be Ireland’s starting outhalf. He oozed confidence, kicked well, controlled the tempo of the game, and steered Ireland to an opening-weekend victory. Even England manager Steve Borthwick felt Crowley was the game-changer.
‘The change at 10 was pretty significant. I thought he (Crowley) played really well when he came on there in that final part of the game,’ Borthwick said, without realising he was adding his voice to the biggest question in Irish sport right now: who should start, Crowley or Prendergast?
The action in the Aviva won’t provide the definitive answer, and expect the Crowley v Prendergast narrative to run parallel to the Six Nations itself, but what we did learn last weekend is that the man from Bandon Rugby Club is up for the battle. That won't surprise those who have watched his rise, from Bandon to Munster to Ireland. There’s a toughness to Crowley, and combined with his drive for perfection, he won’t shirk a challenge.
‘Mental resilience has always been part of me and I guess it comes from my ambition to be the best possible player I can be,’ Crowley explained in December. ‘I guess since the day I started my professional career, I was obviously dreaming about it for a long time, it was always the relentless chase of the best version of myself.
‘I always do believe that there is another level you can go to,’ he added, and his battle with Prendergast – and let’s not forget Ciarán Frawley either – will make Crowley a better player. He has to move to the next level if he wants to move ahead of rising Leinster star Prendergast, so his 22-minute heroics against England couldn’t have come at a better time. Crowley was even named on two international team of the week selections, from French rugby media Midi Olympique and Rugby World – further recognition of the impact he made.
He has left Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby with a decision to make ahead of the away game against Scotland on Sunday. There will be plenty of eyes watching the Irish team announcement on Friday (2pm) to see if Easterby will stick with Prendergast or reward Crowley for his reaction to being dropped.
Former Ireland and Ulster Darren Cave feels Crowley should get the nod for this weekend’s battle, explaining: ‘I’d probably just go with Jack. When you come in and you influence a game like that, you deserve to be given the nod.’ Whatever the selection call, this competition will rage on as the 24-year-old Munster star and the 20-year-old Leinster man show that Ireland look to be well stocked in this position for the foreseeable future.
Ronan O’Gara is a man who knows the No. 10 role better than most, from his time with Munster and Ireland, so his words carry extra weight in this debate. So, ahead of Ireland v England, when he said that Crowley ‘didn’t kick on’ after playing every minute of Ireland’s Six Nations success last year and that ‘Jack has been like a yo-yo for Munster’, those words made headlines. O’Gara’s post-match verdict on Off The Ball saw him perform a u-turn.
‘He had a big game, a huge game,’ explained O’Gara, who has always recognised Crowley’s high ceiling, and even tried to sign him for La Rochelle in the past.
‘As good as I've seen him in a red or a green jersey and I just thought he was decisive. As a ten that does wonders and it spreads to everyone else. He had conceded his position and maybe I was probably a bit blunt on that on the show last week on the fact that he has got to accept being the number two now.
‘To be able to do that under pressure is a huge sign of mental strength but also shows that the kid has balls.
‘He wants this and he is going to fight for it because I thought he looked sharp, he looked fast, he looked strong, he looked powerful. His kicking was good.
‘There was just this aura about him where that is the Jack Crowley that I tried to sign a few years ago.’
Twenty-two minutes – that’s all it took Jack Crowley to show he was up for the fight, to steer Ireland to an opening-weekend Six Nations win, to earn his place on two team of the weeks, to receive high praise from the opposition manager and to convince O’Gara to perform a u-turn on his opinion.
It should also be enough to earn Crowley his starting spot against Scotland, and this time give Prendergast the opportunity to make an impact off the bench.
This rivalry, which is good for Irish rugby, will have plenty of twists and turns.
