England and Ireland both still seeking the perfect 10 ahead of Six Nations opener

Andy Goode believes Jack Crowley's attacking play is "slightly ahead" of Sam Prendergast's.

GOODE OPTIONS: Former England out-half Andy Goode thinks Jack Crowley is the "best and most complete player" but that Ireland will start Sam Prendergast against England this weekend. Pic: Brendan Moran, Sportsfile

The older, established ten or the younger model? It isn’t just Ireland wrestling with this conundrum as the Six Nations approaches. The debate is just as keen across the Irish Sea as Marcus Smith and Fin Smith vie for the No.10 shirt.

Marcus Smith is 25 now and 39 caps into his Test career but plenty of juries remain out as to the Harlequins playmaker’s true potential, even after a November window where he was England’s standout player by some distance.

Fin Smith is three years younger and only at the foothills of his senior international journey and the Northampton Saints ten has a large following attracted to his more conventional style of artistry and the thought that his ceiling may ultimately be higher.

Steve Borthwick has already opted for the elder of the two as his starter when England face Ireland in the Championship opener at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Andy Goode, for one, will find favour with that.

“What I’ve been saying and seeing for the last four years, since Marcus Smith came onto the scene, is very different to what a lot of the coaches have gone with,” said the former England out-half. “I believe you’ve got to back Marcus. You look back to November and he was our best player when he was on the pitch.

“He gets taken off after 55-60 minutes at times, like its preconceived, and England lose the game. He is an X-factor star player for us but I don’t think he was ever given the backing, whether by Eddie Jones or Steve Borthwick, to say ‘you are my guy, I am backing you to the hilt, we’re going to build this team around your strengths and how you play’.

Andy Goode, Jim Hamilton & Simon Zebo teamed up with BoyleSports to preview Ireland’s Six Nations opening clash with England this Saturday. BoyleSports will Pay Out Early if either side goes 17 points ahead at any stage. Pic: Stephen McCarthy, Sportsfile.

Goode, speaking on behalf of Boylesports, isn’t blind to the gifts the younger option brings to the table. He described Fin Smith as a wonderful player, as a more controlled and traditional ten, but Marcus Smith is a man who he knows can ignite an attack.

“Marcus’ impact on games that he has played has been huge but there has always been a shadow over him, whether that was George Ford or Owen Farrell. Now it is, ‘should he be playing at full-back’ because he has that ability too. We need to cut out the questions and just say ‘Marcus, you are the man at ten’.” 

George Ford offers back-up in the event that either or both are injured but the veteran’s days are limited. This is a binary decision, for now, for Borthwick, yet it’s one that isn’t confined to England or Ireland as the tournament opens its lungs.

The return of Romain Ntamack from injury leaves France with three tempting choices at No.10 with Matthieu Jalibert and Thomas Ramos other chess pieces to play around with as they look to build on an encouraging November series.

Ireland’s last Test window was less impressive but both Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley put in some impressive work even if the Leinster man all but usurped his Munster counterpart in the box seat as the month went on.

The expectation is that Prendergast, who had heavy strapping after picking up a dead leg in Portugal this week, will start against England as long as he is fit. Goode, for his part, still sees Crowley as the best option for now.

“At the minute, Crowley is the best and most complete player but I think they will go with Prendergast. Sam is young on the international stage and every opportunity he has had he has taken. I don’t think he has a ceiling in terms of how much he can improve.

“The question for me is, do you back Jack Crowley who won the Six Nations last year as the fly-half and is a wonderful player? His attacking play is slightly ahead in my opinion. Or do you back Prendergast as the guy for the future and the now who could benefit so much from game time now?” 

If the time has long come to back Marcus Smith then Crowley and Prendergast are less advanced on the same road. It may be that Ireland are better served by a battle for minutes between the two as they build towards the next World Cup.

Ireland have gone to previous World Cups perilously light on experienced tens. Ian Madigan had to be parachuted in for Johnny Sexton for a quarter-final against Argentina in 2015 and Joey Carbery and Jack Carty had 26 caps between them in 2019.

Even the last tournament, in France in 2023, saw Crowley travel as back-up to Sexton with just six games for his country under his belt. The recently recalled Ross Byrne had just 15 more come the start of that tournament.

“You could make the argument for both cases: back one of them or share the minutes and the role,” said Goode. “But I also believe that the top teams know who their ten is. Look at South Africa in the World Cup: they started with Manie Libbok but everyone knew they were going back to Handré Pollard at some point and that’s how it turned out.

“They went back to type and lifted the trophy. You need a team identity and to pick players around that identity. The debate between Prendergast and Crowley will rage on but, do you know what, it’s not a bad thing to have two options for Ireland because it has been Sexton or doom, right, for the last how many years?

“Let’s not forget [Ciaran] Frawley as well. He dropped the goal to beat the Springboks away from home last summer and he’s not even in the conversation at the minute. You need to build depth if there are injuries, but you do need one voice in charge, whether that is backing Prendergast now or Crowley sharing it.

“At some point you need to make tough decisions."