In-form Jack Crowley can kick on for Six Nations campaign

The Munster out half almost inspired the province to victory against Northampton on Saturday. 

Munster’s Jack Crowley after the game. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Jack Crowley has been backed to carry his renewed good form into Ireland’s Six Nations preparation camp this week after turning in his “best performance of the season” for Munster at Northampton Saints on Saturday night.

Crowley, 24, will go into the Six Nations next month with fly-half rival Sam Prendergast, three years his junior, tipped to hold onto the Ireland number 10 jersey handed to him by head coach Andy Farrell for the final two Tests of the Autumn Nations Series against Fiji and Australia. The Leinster 10 was handed his international debut having replaced Crowley from the bench midway through the previous week’s game against Argentina.

The media clamour for Prendergast’s elevation continued into December when the 21-year-old returned to Leinster and was handed the starting fly-half berth for the opening Champions Cup pool fixtures against Bristol and Clermont, ahead of more experienced internationals Ciaran Frawley, Ross Byrne and Harry Byrne.

Crowley’s form dipped correspondingly to further strengthen Prendergast’s claims to a start in the championship opener at home to England in Dublin on February 1 but the closing rounds of the European club pool stages have seen a resurgence in form in the win against Saracens and last Saturday’s narrow defeat at Northampton.

Both interim Munster boss Ian Costello and captain Tadhg Beirne praised Crowley’s resilience following the 34-32 loss at Franklin’s Gardens, the fly-half helping his side to try and losing bonus points with two penalties and three conversions with the boot and a break up field at the death which set up the possibility of a match-saving drop goal only for Saints to turn the ball over and escape to victory.

“Jack's a phenomenal player and I think all the chat of him in the media, you know, he's a young lad and he's managing it really well, because some of it hasn't been ideal for him,” Ireland team-mate Beirne said.

“But I think he's managing it really well and I think you've seen it in his performances over the last couple of weeks, how well he's been playing, and I think he's taking more and more confidence in that as each week goes by and I've no doubt he'll carry that over into Ireland now.” 

Interim head coach Costello labelled Crowley’s 80-minute shift as his best performance of the season.

“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.

“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.” 

Fly-halves Crowley, Prendergast and Frawley will meet up with the rest of Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby’s 36-man Six Nations squad at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin before flying to Portugal for a week-long warm-weather training camp on the Algarve.