Ronan O'Gara: Crowley is now pushing all the right buttons in terms of Ireland
IN CHARGE: Jack Crowley in action for Munster in the URC final against the Stormers at DHL Stadium, Cape Town
The trajectories of the two out halves in the URC final in Cape Town is intriguing. The Stormers, and their coach, John Dobson, have hung their hat on Manie Libbock this season, and he has been lauded widely down there from what I can establish. He scored 23 points in the competition semi-final against Connacht and has a mercurial quality for sure. But he has a way to go. To be charged down by Gavin Coombes at such a critical moment in the final, at this level, is pretty incomprehensible. The key thing about finals footie is you have to find and interrogate the weak link, and Munster did both. In 12 months’ time, Munster would put a 20-point difference on the Stormers.
What this season has established with regard to Munster is they now have a few pillars or corner stones which they can build a team around. The front row is obviously an area of concern that they must focus on now. But Jean Kleyn is a warrior, RG Snyman a brilliant player; then they have Hodnett, Coombes, Crowley, Frisch, Haley, Nash and Daly. What will happen over the next twelve months is they will get stronger collectively by filling people around those players and positions. Hodnett, Coombes, Crowley and Haley have shown presence and leadership quicker than I thought they were capable of.
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