Brian O’Driscoll insists Jack Crowley’s Ireland hopes have not been harmed by his absence in the Nations Championship after Sam Prendergast failed to grasp his opportunity.
In a battle which has been going on for the best part of the last two years, Prendergast was handed the reins for the mid-year Tests after his rival was forced to miss the games with the Wallabies, Japan and All Blacks.
An ‘obscure’ blood vessel injury in the back of Crowley’s leg has kept him on the sidelines since mid-April after he ended the Six Nations as Ireland’s first choice 10.
That afforded Prendergast and Ciaran Frawley a chance to stake their claim for the shirt this month, but neither impressed over the three games.
Struggles against the All Blacks
The former particularly struggled against the All Blacks, despite the odd flash of brilliance, with the 23-year-old making a number of errors in that 40-21 defeat.
“Prendergast had a real mixed bag in truth. A couple of times we had them in a bit of trouble and he threw passes on the ground or into touch and wasn’t quite accurate,” O’Driscoll told Off The Ball.
“But then as well he picks a great pass for Hugo Keenan’s try and there’s lots of other good moments as well.”
Prendergast’s Achilles heel has been his defence and, as a result, teams have started to target him more and more.
The All Blacks were no different and the fly-half was forced to make a staggering 22 tackle attempts, six of which he missed.
Although the playmaker was not massively exposed in that area last weekend, with the show’s host suggesting he was “a little better in defence”, O’Driscoll still sees it as a significant weakness.
Jack Crowley remains Ireland’s first choice 10
“I was looking at it and every time [Quinn] Tupaea got the ball and saw that it was him in front of him, it was like one decision, so it was a little like, if you make your bed in the past around having that vulnerability, you’re going to continue to be that target.
“I don’t see that changing anytime soon because I know that he’s not going to ever monster [opponents]. We just want him to be a proficient tackler, but I think he will be a target going forward.
“Big guys like Tupaea, [Anton] Lienert-Brown and Jordie Barrett, if they see him, particularly with the intel of Jordie Barrett [from his time at Leinster], any time he feels isolated or there’s a one-on-one, take it on because there are off-loads to be had post-contact or a potential line break yourself.
“He’s putting himself into the collision more but I still think we’ve a little bit of a way to go and we’re talking it’s night and day defensively with Jack Crowley at 10 and him at 10.
“I wouldn’t say anyone’s stock necessarily went up – Jack’s stock or Sam Prendergast’s stock – but I think that Jack is still very much Ireland’s number one based on the last three games.”
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