‘Have Ireland improved since the World Cup, without Johnny Sexton?’
Not a question many pundits, fans or former players in Ireland are throwing around yet, but the question was asked this week. That will tell you how well Jack Crowley has been going in the 10 jersey.
The Aotearoa Rugby Pod gang are at a safe enough distance to blaspheme about Saint Sexton, and it goes to show you how smoothly Ireland have started their Six Nations title defence. “From the outside, looking in,” said former Auckland Blues star James Parsons, “it is a tip of the cap for whatever their training environment is like and the way Johnny Sexton shared knowledge, that it’s almost like they’ve got better. The [new face] have slipped in like a hand in glove.”
On our own podcast, House of Rugby, this week, I was guilty of a Jack Crowley mistake that only became apparent when I heard former Lions captain Sam Warburton raving about the Munster outhalf. During our show, Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhghaill asked me what had impressed me most about Ireland in the current championship.
For me, it is how players are stepping in and out of the starting XV without the team missing a beat. I name-checked Calvin Nash, Joe McCarthy and Ciáran Frawley before mentioning how well Ryan Baird and Stuart McCloskey, along with Jack Conan, did with their starts against Italy. Crowley had not crossed my mind. That is how embedded into this team he has become. Ahead of the championship, Ronan O’Gara told us:
“It is the post-Johnny period and it’s an opportunity for Jack Crowley to grasp it… He will get first crack at it. If he’s good, he’d get a go, but he won’t have endless chances, unless he does the business. The signs for me are very positive.”
Three games and three comfortable wins later, O’Gara has already declared the No.10 debate ‘has ended’. The Wales game was his least impressive of his first three Six Nations starts but he was still assured in everything he did and his kicking from the tee improved. Crowley vs. Frawley vs. Byrne(s) was a big topic of debate. One month on, most of us are certain the best man has been selected for the job.
Tommy Bowe on Jack Crowley
Over on The Ruck, another decent rugby podcast, Sam Warburton and Tommy Bowe – Lions teammates in 2013 – both waxed lyrical on the talent, and potential ceiling, of this Irish side.
Bowe stressed that any Ireland trip to Twickenham does not come without some trepidation, but he is confident Andy Farrell’s side have what it takes to beat World Cup semi-finalists England. Stressing that there are still two “tough” games to be played, Warburton did declare:
“So far, in these three games, 21 points is the closest anyone has got to Ireland. I’m not sure a team will come within 15 points of Ireland. So that could be back-to-back Grand Slams… if you are looking at the hard facts and the black & white of it, Ireland should win by two scores in both those games [England and Scotland], which would make it the most convincing Grand Slam ever, [won] back-to-back. You’ve then probably got the best Six Nations side of all time. That’s the carrot dangling in front of them. It’s a heck of a legacy to leave for Ireland.”
Alex Lowe asked Tommy Bowe is Jack Crowley being able to seamlessly step in for a legendary No.10, in Johnny Sexton, a ‘hallmark of how good this side is’.
“I think that has been the most surprising to players like myself, that played alongside Johnny,” said Bowe. “Johnny, whenever he was the leader of our team, in that 10 jersey, everything went through him. He was so decisive in set-plays, calls we would make and even in setting standards. I definitely felt there was going to be a drop-off in this Irish team because Johnny was just so influential but it has really blown me away, how the structures have been put in place by the coaches – meaning players can drop in and drop out.
“Someone as important as Johnny Sexton was, heading into that World Cup, you’re thinking that maybe we really didn’t have to rely on him as much as we did. Maybe going into that quarter final [against New Zealand] when maybe his legs were spent after 60 minutes, maybe they could have brought Jack Crowley on, and he could have added an injection of energy.”
Just when we were getting excited again, that quarter final mention brings us back to earth. Bowe makes a valid point, though, and one that others are starting to openly confer on, with each passing game of Jack Crowley looking at ease in the big time.
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