Share
6th June 2023
12:18pm BST
Munster players, from left, Jack Crowley, Alen Kendellen and Malakai Fekitoa celebrate with the URC trophy, at DHL Stadium in Cape Town. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Sportsfile)[/caption]
"He was so cool, calm and collected," observed former Leinster star Lindsay Peat, "and that just reverberated around the whole team. He was key to that win because when you have someone so assured in the 10 position, it just calms you. I know, as a prop, you can just go about your job, knowing the direction is going to come from your 10. And he did that so exceptionally well."Without wanting to take away from the decent 10s that have had good cracks at the main Munster role over the past decade - such as Carbery, Ian Keatley, JJ Hanrahan and Tyler Bleyendaal - the emergence of Crowley does harken back to the days of Ronan O'Gara. A real leader at 10 and someone that not only rewards the efforts of his pack but gives them set-pieces to get stuck into and ignites the backline. One of the stand-out aspects of that United Rugby Championship final was the high line Crowley played and the timing of his passes. He rarely seemed hurried, despite the Stormers press.
"We're making all these comparisons to him and ROG," said Hennessy, "but, for me, he's more like Johnny Sexton. "He's very much like Sexton as he brings that physicality as well. He's a big lad. And people do forget, Johnny takes the ball hard to the line, every time, and he is well able to tackle. And he's got that cool, calm head where everyone looks to him to dictate things and, to me, that is what Jack is like."When host Greg O'Shea did the rounds and asked who should be backing up Sexton during the World Cup, it was Crowley that won the vote, ahead of Ross Byrne, 3-0.
Explore more on these topics:
