'Out-halves love the attention, don't they?' - Jack Crowley embracing the scrutiny around being Munster and Ireland's number 10

At the start of 2024, one of the big issues in Irish rugby was the uncertainty over who would be Ireland's long-term option at out-half, following the retirement of Johnny Sexton.

Twelve months later, we still don't have an answer to that question, but that uncertainty is a positive rather than a negative.

In Jack Crowley, Sam Prendergast and Ciarán Frawley, head coach Andy Farrell has options. Crowley started the bulk of the games in 2024 before Sam Prendergast came in for the final outings against Fiji and Australia, and while Ciarán Frawley didn’t get a start in the 10 shirt during the year, the versatile Leinster back did show enough in flashes to ensure he will still be on the radar next season.

The decision to retain Prendergast in the starting side last week and keep Crowley back on the bench grew a life of its own last week.

After years of bemoaning Ireland’s overreliance on Johnny Sexton, there was a ferocious backlash to the news that the Munster man was wearing 22 rather than 10 at Aviva Stadium, while an unproven 21-year-old was being given the keys to the backline against a good quality opposition.

Prendergast played, and played well, before Crowley and his Munster half-back partner Craig Casey were summoned from the bench with just under a quarter of the game left to play, and the pair’s introduction kicked new life into Ireland, as they closed out a narrow 22-19 win against the Wallabies.

"It was a really exciting opportunity to be able to come onto the pitch and win in the end," Crowley, an ambassador for Pinergy, told the RTÉ Rugby podcast.

"I guess when you’re watching on the sideline you want to assess how the game is going, and what areas are going well and what areas maybe could be improved.

"Then you look