When Andy Farrell named his squad for the Guinness Six Nations opener against France on Wednesday, the Ireland manager said he did not expect his team to be “perfect” in Marseille, but that he expected his squad to be “ruthless”. ”, he said.
It turned out that he had worked out the script in advance.
Ireland’s performance at the Orange Velodrome wasn’t perfect, even with a 38-17 scoreline, but the way they tore apart Les Bleus and set up a record score away to France. , could not have been more ruthless.
Jack Crowley’s performance on his first night as Ireland’s first out-half was illustrative of this. Johnny Sexton is hard to follow, but the 24-year-old played his own tune on his 10th cap.
As expected, there were some errors. He saw an early kick charge down and another went full out. And there was an adventurous grubber at No. 22 who spread a little too much mustard when he popped out beyond the dead ball line. France’s second try came from Paul Gabriag, resulting from a penalty that Crowley ultimately conceded after colliding with Gaël Ficou in the air.
But what is most impressive about Munster’s out-half is his ability to play every moment, without taking into account what has happened before.
After missing a penalty in the 23rd minute, Thomas Ramos scored one for France and the lead swung to six points, as a 13-0 lead could have turned into 10-3 in the end, but left They were nervous as they made two conversions from the side. Both restored the team’s 14-point buffer on the touchline in the second half. He received 6 out of 7 points in the box score, bringing his personal total to 13 points.
“He embodies exactly what we’re talking about,” Farrell said of Crowley after the game.
“His strength of character in goal-kicking truly showed immense character as he missed the previous goal, albeit from a long distance, and then trotted two goals away from the sideline.
“So this is a good start for him and a good start for us as a team and hopefully he gets better and we can benefit from that as well.”
While his calmness was impressive, his offensive intent was also exciting. His smart move through the blind side of the scrum in the 21st minute almost led to Ireland’s second try, but Josh van der Flier was blocked on the line and the ball was forced to the contact point. His willingness to play created a gap for Tajig Beirne. He runs under the post after half an hour. Pete Maubaka took the bait as Crawley faced off against the defence, and the French hooker played the ball to his Munster team-mate after being hit.
While he was willing to put his body on the line in attack, he also showed a desire to use his strength in defence, most notably ramming 150kg Posoro Tuilagi to the ground and smashing the 19-year-old. That was when it was cut down. The last 10 minutes of the game.
Crucially, he appeared unburdened by expectations after inheriting the Ireland No. 10 jersey from Johnny Sexton, arguably this country’s greatest player.
“There’s no question that a young kid playing in Jack’s position is a ’10-year-old’ and has that responsibility, but obviously all week everyone was wondering how they were going to cope without Johnny. I was speaking” [Sexton] And Jack was going to be the first to take on the role,” Farrell added.
“It definitely creeps in. I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t, but it gives him strength to know his teammates are ready and have his back.”
“I thought his calmness on the line was great. He made some really good decisions and some bad ones, and I think he knows that better than anyone.”
A single win won’t define his career, but the weight of expectations has been lifted a little by showing the world that he can play his way in a high-stakes environment.