Brian O’Driscoll believes Ireland would almost have the perfect fly-half if you could combine the best qualities of Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast.

Ahead of the Autumn Nations Series, debate will once again rage on who should wear the 10 jersey for the upcoming internationals.

Andy Farrell’s men take on the All Blacks, Japan, Wallabies and the Springboks in November and it will be intriguing to see which player the head coach opts for.

Prendergast was preferred for the Six Nations but the 22-year-old was criticised for his defence and was replaced by Crowley for the final match against Italy.

If the Leinsterman wants to take the shirt long-term then he needs to improve his work without the ball, but O’Driscoll is worried that his unwillingness to put his body on the line will be impossible to rectify.

‘Frustrates the life out of me’

“I can see it in players and it frustrates the life out of me around being timid in contact, not staying aggressive over the ball when there’s a clear jackal opportunity,” he told Off The Ball.

“It doesn’t matter what number you have on your jersey, I find that very frustrating, but it’s a difficult thing to change.

“It’s not a learned skill, it’s almost innate – it’s in you or it’s not.”

O’Driscoll was then asked if Crowley has that ability to put his head where it hurts, to which the Ireland legend responded: “Yeah, he does.”

He added: “I think if you put Crowley’s defence and Prendergast’s attack [together], you would have a really, really, really great player.

“I think Crowley’s got a nice edge to him, has never shied away from any of the physical. I’ve seen him getting narky and hitting rucks. Someone gets a cheap shot on him and he tries to get [back], I love that.

“If you could almost amalgamate, I think you’ve got a really, really great player on your hands.”

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Crowley’s attack

O’Driscoll’s main concern about the Munster star revolves around his ability with ball in hand and he explained why that is the case.

“I think Crowley’s attack game is significantly less authoritative than Prendergast’s, and an ability to create space – just his body shape and timing it,” he said.

“That is a difficult learned skill, I think that’s innate as well. He (Prendergast) just understands it around timing and when to let the pass go, whereas I would say that Crowley’s a tiny bit more mechanical, a little bit more learned.

“It’s still incredibly effective, don’t get me wrong, but I just don’t think he has that natural inclination the way Prendergast does. However, he has a natural inclination for wanting to hack guys down.”

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