Former Ireland teammates Andrew Trimble and Shane Horgan are at odds over who Andy Farrell should start at No.10 against France in the Six Nations on February 5.<\/p>\n
The Irish enter the tournament with concerns about their recent progress. The French, the All Blacks and the Springboks all got the better of them during 2025 and there has been plenty of speculation about what the head coach might do with their first match of 2026 now just over two weeks away.<\/p>\n
Farrell will name his Ireland<\/a> squad this Wednesday before taking them to Quinta do Lago in Portugal next week to prepare for their match in Paris. That opener will be followed by fixtures at home to Italy on February 14 and away to England on February 21.<\/p>\n When selecting an fly-half for the recent four-match Autumn Nations Series<\/a>, Jack Crowley was named to start against New Zealand and Japan with Sam Prendergast providing the bench back-up, but this selection was switched for the games versus Australia and South Africa with Prendergast<\/a> wearing No.10 and Crowley<\/a> chosen as a replacement.<\/p>\n Two-way battle has extended to three<\/p>\n This two-way battle for the jersey has now extended to three, though, following the winter re-emergence of Harry Byrne at Leinster. He won the last of his four Test caps when appearing off the bench behind Crowley in the March 2024 title-clinching win over Scotland.<\/p>\n Byrne\u2019s struggle for recognition last season with Leinster resulted in him spending the second part of 2024\/25 on loan at Bristol Bears <\/a>in PREM Rugby. However, he has risen to prominence since then back home in Dublin and has started in four of his seven Leinster appearances since Ireland\u2019s November series.<\/p>\n That included coming off the bench to kick the winning penalty in the Investec Champions Cup win over La Rochelle and then starting the follow-up victory away to Bayonne last Saturday.<\/p>\n This exposure has vaulted him into the Ireland Six Nations<\/a> conversation and Trimble is now giving him every chance of starting for Ireland against France, a prospect that for former Test teammate Horgan didn\u2019t agree with as he feels Crowley should be the Irish No.10 at the Stade de France.<\/p>\n The lively debate between the pair unfolded on the Second Captain\u2019s podcast<\/a>, beginning with Trimble plumping for Byrne as his choice at fly-half. \u201cHarry Byrne is my 10, to be honest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like Jack Crowley has that X-factor, has that ability to create something, that individualism, he can beat defenders, he can offload, he can create something, a spark out of nothing. He is very, very strong in that space. I don\u2019t think Harry Byrne gets there in that category.<\/p>\n \u201cSimilarly, Prendergast has that ability to pick out options at the line. It\u2019s so, so subtle, just so clever to spot what\u2019s coming and then find that space. I don\u2019t think Harry Byrne gets there either, but he doesn\u2019t have glaring holes that both of them have.<\/p>\n Who\u2019s hot and who\u2019s not: \u2018Transformed\u2019 Glasgow, Munster \u2018misery\u2019 and the \u2018only upside\u2019 to Scott Robertson \u2018mess\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Investec Champions Cup Team of the Week: \u2018Scrumptious\u2019 Antoine Dupont \u2018sends alarm bells ringing\u2019 as Marcus Smith \u2018back to his best\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHe is a more complete player, and we have seen over the last couple of weeks his ability to be assured, confident and he has steered his team home the last couple of weeks. It\u2019s not that complimentary my description there, but it feels like he doesn\u2019t have those holes and the overall package of what he offers, overall it\u2019s better than what the other two offer.\u201d<\/p>\n Reacting to what Trimble had to say, Horgan replied: \u201cThat\u2019s a good assessment, but in some ways slightly depressing. I want the top, top, I want the ceiling to be really high and with Harry Byrne, I don\u2019t think our ceiling is as high as with either of the other two but our basement with the other two is lower than with him potentially and it depends where you want to make the call here.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some ways, Prendergast is a perfect international 10 and a perfect Six Nations 10 but for his defence \u2013 and by the way, he missed two tackles against La Rochelle for two tries. That\u2019s what happened.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I do think the way he can manage a team around the field, his ability, his pass, all those kinds of things, it is made for international rugby \u2013 but I just don\u2019t know if you can see past the defensive deficiencies and maybe you can\u2019t which is going to really, really sad for him and depressing for the rest of us.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so, if we can\u2019t pick him, which I don\u2019t think we really can, and let\u2019s say (Ciaran) Frawley seems to be out of the picture altogether and he is injured as well, is it Harry Byrne or Jack Crowley?<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, I would prefer to go for the guy who gives you the higher ceiling and push him on the other elements of the game and push him to have a greater focus on that, be more supportive around plotting this team around and his kicking game and I would lead with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Ex-ref boss blasts English official after \u2018completely unacceptable\u2019 assist for Springbok\u2019s try<\/a><\/p>\n Ireland squad announcement boost as Leinster issue \u2018training exposure\u2019 update on long-term injured duo<\/a><\/p>\n Second Captains rugby correspondent Simon Hick then interjected, suggesting that Horgan has a thought process similar to Ireland boss Farrell. \u201cYou know what, Shane, I think you think like Andy Farrell. Gambler is the wrong word, but he\u2019d like that feeling of someone who could do something really special.<\/p>\n \u201cHe knows Ireland aren\u2019t quite good enough relative to France at the moment to sort of go seven out of 10 at everything. He kind of knows maybe we need to go, maybe we can get away with Prendergast missing tackles, or Crowley missing kicks or Crowley not seeing the space because they can do some other things 10 out of 10.<\/p>\n \u201cWhereas Byrne is more like seven to eight out of 10 in all areas. Most teams would be delighted with that, and he is a very good player, but there is no one thing that you go, he is lights out.\u201d<\/p>\n Trimble now rejoined the conversation, speaking about how Farrell is having to look at rolling the dice in other areas of the team and that might feed into his eventual selection at 10. \u201cThe only thing with that is there is less certainty around this Ireland side at the minute.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like a lot of individuals are really putting their hand up. A lot of injuries, a lot of difficulties, we are going to see a lot more new faces than we probably would see, so he is rolling the dice with a lot of those, he is rolling the dice with the props and that could be a good thing. We don\u2019t know what we don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n