Crowley And Ryan Rewarded For Lifting Performance Levels

Crowley and Ryan began the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations on the bench against France, but have forced their way back into the starting XV over the last week and could have crucial roles to play in the third round clash at Allianz Stadium.

For the trip to Twickenham, Crowley has been preferred to Sam Prendergast at out-half following his impactful cameo against Italy, while Ryan, one of six personnel changes for the Italian match, will continue his second row partnership with Joe McCarthy.

While missing out on the matchday 23 is a setback personally for Prendergast, Farrell knows it will fire up the 23-year-old to regain his best form. It also gives an opportunity for Ciarán Frawley to take the bench role, having not played in the Six Nations since 2024.

“Sam is a fantastic international player. He is on a journey that’s obviously learning, like all of us. That will never stop,” said the Ireland head coach, when asked about leaving Prendergast out of the squad.

“It’s the same for Ciarán Frawley, like we’ve talked all along about the four lads competing against one another (for the out-half spot) and the balance is right for this team this weekend.

“Frawls is 100% excited. He has been certainly frustrated with the lack of game-time, certainly in the autumn.

“But being able to give him the game there with the Ireland XV obviously kept him ticking over, and from what we’ve seen in training, how sharp he is and how eager he is to get going and the balance that he gives us on the bench, he’ll be ready to go.

“Everyone gets feedback and we talk it through and we use it in the right manner to see where we’re going to go in the not too distant future. So, it’s the same for everyone.”

The manner in which Crowley came off the bench and helped to steer Ireland past an impressive Italian side convinced the coaches to hand him his first Test start since November’s victory over Japan, and his first in the Six Nations since last March’s final round defeat of the Azzurri in Rome.

Combining at half-back with Jamison Gibson-Park, the Cork native’s ability to get the Irish attack motoring was evident in the lead up to Robert Baloucoune’s 56th-minute try. He kicked a crisp five points from the tee, although his late kicking blunder robbed Ireland of a shot at a bonus point.

As was seen during Ireland’s 2024 Six Nations title-winning campaign, and more recently for Munster against Leinster last autumn, the 26-year-old can be a real talisman, as is the case too with Ryan, who is just behind captain Caelan Doris for attacking ruck arrivals after two rounds.

Speaking about the reasoning behind Crowley getting the nod this week, Farrell explained: “Because of what we’ve seen and how he’s come through and performed and playing confidently. I think the two lads (Prendergast and Crowley) probably came in to camp, I think they’ve probably been in better form.

“I’m not saying they were in bad form, in better form, but you see during training which way that you’re going to go through performance, etc.

“You back what you see and all of that. I suppose sometimes you see people come from the back, have nothing to lose and get over themselves and then just rip in.”

He added: “And we’ve not just seen that with Jack, but we’ve seen that with someone as experienced as say James Ryan. Not selected to start in the first game, came on against France and had a storming game and has continued that.

“I saw that with James as well in the Lions where he was behind the eight ball there with a quad injury, and you know, he was chasing his tail to try and get into the squad, and he played his best rugby, I would have thought, within that tour.

“That’s because people are able to just sit back a little bit, make sense of it all, get over themselves and rip into the performance. I think you saw that with Jack’s performance last week.”

Meanwhile, Jonathan Sexton liked what he saw from Crowley, his former international team-mate who was the back-up number 10 at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, during his 24 minutes on the pitch against Italy.

This will be the Munster star’s 17th start in 33 Tests, and he showed when playing every minute of the 2024 Six Nations that he has the mental and physical fortitude to shine on the big stage, and they do not come much bigger than the cauldron that is Twickenham.

“I think the way Jack came on and attacked the game last weekend was very impressive,” Sexton said of Crowley. “The energy he brought and, with that, making good decisions. He wasn’t setting anything up, he was getting the ball to the space, when it was there, in the moment, and that’s a big development for him.

“I suppose it’s the hardest thing to do in international rugby, the difference between a good game and a bad game is when the space is there, you’ve got to go there, because if you set a phase up, it’s not going to be there the next time because teams are too good.

“So what he did last Saturday was good in that regard, and now he’ll have to do it from minute one. I suppose it can be different from the start, you have to manage the game a bit more. So yeah, each time whether they’re on the bench or starting, it’s a different challenge.”

The Ireland assistant coach is confident that Prendergast will bounce back quickly from his scoreless showing in round 2. He had a few tough days at the office himself during his 124 international appearances, and not getting too bogged down in the disappointment over missed kicks is all part of the process.

“Well, Sam was two from two against France. I know he didn’t have a lot of kicks (against Italy) and he missed a couple of bad ones. It’s a one-off.

“Could they be better? Do they want to be better? I’m sure. Yeah. Like every kicker. You never have it fully nailed. That’s the toughest thing about kicking. It will hit you when you least expect it.

“Sam, he had the ball on a string for 95% of last week and probably just rushed the first (kick) and that probably rattled him a little bit. We’ve all been there. It’s just important that he learns from it and doesn’t let it happen again,” added Sexton.

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