After the seventh Test of 2024, Jack Crowley gets to rest. Marseilles, Dublin, London, Pretoria and finally Kings Park in Durban represent the playing postcards of his newfound status as Ireland’s first-choice outhalf and playmaker.
In November 2022 Crowley tried on Johnny Sexton’s jersey for size, literally – it had Sexton’s name and cap number 110 – and metaphorically, when the Irish captain was a very late withdrawal through injury from the game against Australia.
Styling wise, it was a decent fit, but hardly snug. It would have been ridiculous if that had been the case. After all he’d had just 35 minutes against Fiji on debut the previous week. Three minutes against Italy represented the sum total of his game time in the 2023 Six Nations, and in competitive terms, he started one World Cup match against Samoa of his four appearances at the World Cup in France.
Sexton retired. Crowley was promoted to fill the vacancy. Ireland won the Six Nations. So far, so handy. The Innishannon native was voted both the URC players’ player of the season and Next-Gen player of the season, bookending some high-profile moments at club level this year and last.
The 24-year-old has been largely excellent for Munster and Ireland, the maturation process manifest in temperament and composure that complment complement talent. There is still significant room for growth, as there should be, an attractive prospect for club and country.
The “Sexton dictum” was a previous form of on-pitch governance. Crowley’s shouldn’t be an approximation. He must allow his personality to peep before shining through. It doesn’t preclude him from borrowing aspects of his predecessor’s style, nor should it prevent him from seeking Sexton’s advice.
The good news is that it hasn’t. Crowley confirmed: “I have, yeah, over the last number of months. If there’s anything that pops up that I feel he’s so experienced with, I’ve been able to go to him.”
Speaking at Northwood School in Durban on Friday, Caelan Doris, who will lead Ireland for just the second time against South Africa in Kings Park on Saturday, was asked about Crowley’s presence. “He’s a confident fellah. I remember saying to you guys that I didn’t envy the transition from filling Johnny’s boots coming into that role.
“He probably pressured himself a bit too much in terms of seeing what Johnny did and feeling that he had to do that. So, we tried to take the weight off his shoulders a bit by telling him to focus on his game and that everything else would grow as he got more experienced.
“We’ve seen that growth in terms of how he’s starting to lead the team, in terms of how he’s talking in huddles in training, in terms of the mini conversations around the laptops and things like that. So there’s definitely been an evolution and he’s becoming way more comfortable in the role and becoming a leader himself.”
The apron strings have long since been cut but the comparisons have taken slightly longer. It’s not meant to imprison Crowley in Sexton’s shadow, more looking to find out if he shares any traits. Doris was asked.
“He probably doesn’t have the narkiness, which is nice in some ways! But he’s got the will to win, the want to improve and to train very hard and want everyone else around him to improve, to stick to the plan so there’s some Johnny traits there.”
In the final on-pitch huddle before the first Test in Pretoria, Crowley did the talking. Doris revealed why. “As a 10 he’s our attack leader, he’s the go-to man for attack messages.”
That’s a player’s perspective on Crowley but what about Ireland head coach Andy Farrell? He has been such a supportive presence in the fledgling outhalf’s career, yet the feedback has been, and will be, honest. That’s good for a young player’s development. Two things are required, a capacity to take criticism and the aptitude to use it to progress.
In the aftermath of the first Test defeat at Loftus Versfeld, Farrell fielded a question about Crowley’s performance. He replied: “Jack, I’m sure he’ll be disappointed with one or two things in his game but it’s a Test match. It’s not all smelling of roses, is it?” That’s tough love.
Five days later Farrell was asked to deliver a term report on his young outhalf, in advance of a final exam before the summer break. He said: “He’s a quality player, Jack, and his strength is that he is able to stay focused when the chaos is all around him and when things aren’t quite going the way you would hope they’d be going.
“That’s Test match rugby. So, as far as his seven-game progress is concerned you would admit that he has played some really promising games for us but it’s the ones [losing or tough games] that he’s learning from the most.
“I’ve no doubt he would have learned a lot from last week about how to control the game and have authority on the game. That’s the step in everybody’s progress when you’re looking at such a young international career so far.”
Somewhere on a beach during the summer, Crowley might pause to rewind the last 13 months in the mind’s eye. Or perhaps wait until he has a pencil and paper in hand to write down his goals for next season.
One aspect of his game that stood out in his younger days was his ability to break the line and beat the tackle. He’s had less scope to do that at Test level but there’s an argument that he must unlock that space, not just for himself but his team-mates.
Crowley said: “I guess it is trying to find that balance where you are going over the edge and forcing it. The beauty of it is that you don’t go looking for it. The second you go looking for it, everything else shuts down and you get caught with the ball. That’s the big thing, understanding when it opens up and how you can open your game up as well: understanding the game and being able to pick the moments.”
On the other side of the ball, he is brave, though he shrugs off that acknowledgment. “It is a channel that gets targeted because teams go after the source of the ball. You’re part of a chain and you have to do your part and make a tackle. Sometimes you are in the backfield and have to cover.
“It’s an expectation to make your tackles and not be holding back the rest of the backline, in that if they have to think about you not making your tackle or having to help you out, then it might have an impact on what they do out wide. I always want to be able to make my hits and do my part for the team in our defensive system.” He has and he does.
Place-kicking is another performance metric at which he wants to excel. The team relies on him and he works hard to honour that faith. Even when he’s having an off day, he has to be Teflon mentally. “When you do miss one, you try to get over it as soon as possible and you try to learn but also, you’ve got to get back into whatever’s happening next.
“That’s the beauty of it – it’s so individual, the kick, but then you’re immediately back into a collective and you’ve got lads around you who will give you a pat on the shoulder and say, ‘forget about it, next one.’
“And that’s the thing about this group. It’s so strong in terms of connection. You have senior lads and other lads who will give you an immediate word and say let’s move on. And you move on because it’s important that you stay in the fight.”
On Saturday in Kings Park he’ll run out for the 33rd time this season, more than any other Irish player. It’s been a rugby tempering that’s propelled him not so much to where he wants to be, but to a noteworthy staging post in fine fettle on that journey. Secure, also, in the knowledge that on foot of continued improvement, he has miles and miles to run.
