Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley is up to the challenge of stepping into Johnny Sexton’s shoes at the moment and “could go far,” says teammate James Rowe.
Test rookie Crowley made his Guinness Six Nations debut in Dublin, scoring his first senior try of his career and putting the defending champions on track for a commanding 36-0 win over Italy.
The 24-year-old, who has never scored a touchdown in Munster’s 45 regional outings, will become first-choice number 10 following the retirement of long-time talisman Sexton after the 2023 Rugby World Cup. I was promoted.
Leinster winger Lowe also featured on Sunday afternoon and was impressed by Crawley’s early impact, scoring his fifth of Ireland’s six tries before being named Man of the Match.
“There’s a lot of pressure on him. He’s got some world-class 10 players coming in front of him,” he said.
“He took things at his own pace and got through it week by week.
“He doesn’t have the aura that Sexton has yet. He hasn’t lowered his gaze yet. He’s great, he’s growing into it.
“He also came in in the number 15 (after full-back Hugo Keenan was injured), so fair play to him. He’s a young bloke, he’s got a solid head and shoulders and he’ll go far.”
Crowley, who has 11 caps, made his full Championship debut in the first leg in France, which Ireland won 38-17.
For the second week in a row, he put in a solid performance despite some nervy kicks.
Ulster center Stuart McCloskey, one of six players included in Andy Farrell’s starting XI following his success at Marseille, echoed Lowe’s praise for Crowley.
“He’s good, right? He’s been really good the last few games,” McCloskey said.
“He’s obviously still learning. He’s a young player, but some of his touches, the way he gets the ball to the line, the way he offloads, he’s a little bit different from what Jonny brought. It’s different. Not that Johnny isn’t great, but it was great.” A slightly different way of playing.
“Obviously he made some mistakes and there were things he needed to improve on, but you can understand that as a 24-year-old player.
“He was very good last week as well, and I thought he was very good.”
A double from Dan Sheehan and further goals from Jack Conan and Calvin Nash meant Ireland went into the fallow weekend in first place with maximum points.
Farrell’s side will face Wales on February 24, before facing England and Scotland next month.
“We made quite a few changes this week, but the boys who joined the group really put their hands up and showed why they are international,” Lowe added.
“We’re happy with where we’re sitting. We’re in a pretty good position.”