WE ALL KNEW there would be more bumps in the road in the out-half battle, but few would have predicted a shuffle as drastic as what has unfolded in this Six Nations.
On paper, it’s nothing too out of the ordinary. Sam Prendergast went into the championship as the starting 10, but has since lost his place to Jack Crowley, the out-half option who is currently, undeniably, playing better rugby.
Crowley himself likely fancied his chances of wrestling the shirt back, but he might not have envisioned being so clearly out on his own heading into the final two rounds, starting with tonight’s home meeting with Wales [KO 8.10pm, RTÉ 2] – Prendergast misses out on the squad for the second game running, so Ciarán Frawley covers 10 off the bench while Harry Byrne, ruled out with concussion this week, is yet to get a look in.
Many are delighted to see Crowley back as leading man, given many felt he never should have been demoted in the first place. The Munster player is no doubt proud of fighting his way back from a difficult position, having suffered his own dip in form, but insists his motivation was never centered around proving a point to anyone.
“I feel like it’s not really about proving my point, or for anybody proving your point,” Crowley says.
“It’s more about just always continuing to find your best and how you can do that week to week, how you can do that from day to day, training. Then it’s about where you can add to the team so that you have 15 individuals out there that are bringing their best. And when you do that you get performances that come together, like England.”
Crowley impressed against England and starts at 10 again tonight. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
A day like that England win must have felt a long time coming for Crowley. Two years ago he was the clear first-choice 10 as Ireland started their Six Nations with a stunning win against France in Marseille, going on to play every minute as Andy Farrell’s team won the championship.
Then Crowley hit some setbacks, losing his starting place to the emerging Prendergast that November. In the 2025 Six Nations, Crowley started the first four games on the bench before taking the number 10 again for the final round win in Rome.
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The 10 battle remained turbulent, Crowley starting the first two November games in 2025, Prendergast taking over for the final two. The Leinster man remained in front for this year’s Paris opener and home win over Italy, but has now dropped out altogether, Crowley impressing in Twickenham and keeping his place this week. Both are fine players, and the pecking order may well continue to swing.
It’s not the path Crowley would have envisioned when he led Ireland through that 2024 Six Nations and looked the heir apparent to Johnny Sexton, but two years down the line he approaches the topic with a typical wide-lens view.
“I think the journey is one that you don’t ever want to wish to change anything about because you are here right now as you’re meant to be, and everything along the way is what made you who you are right now, and you can’t change anything in the past and it’s done. Like the future, you don’t know what’s coming and all you can control is right here right now.
“Bring your best right here, right now, and you look after the future because what you do now is what will determine what comes down the line. It’s never really about focusing too much on the past or looking too far forward. I had a tough training today, I’m thinking about getting back down to the gym to do a gym session, so that’s what’s on my mind. Just like I said, trying to stay as much in the now.”
Every step of that journey has taken place under intense scrutiny and attention. Before Twickenham, Farrell’s decision to remove Prendergast and promote Crowley was the biggest talking point in a team selection full of them. As the man in the eye of that storm, Crowley tried to keep a clear mind, and says he didn’t feel the pressure of the occasion.
“Being honest, no, because it comes back to process,” he says.
Crowley speaking to the media in Dublin this week. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“You’ve got to find the balance because the occasion matters. You know what I mean? Like playing in Twickenham matters. Like (delivering for) the supporters, that matters. But then ultimately, to get the best out of your performance, you’ve got to find that balance between understanding the occasion that’s coming, understanding that opposition that you’re playing against. But then bringing it back to ‘how do I get a good performance?’ And for me, it’s bringing it back to process and just doing the right thing over and over again.”
The former Bandon RFC man talks like a man who hasn’t let the tough moments get to him. Yet just a few weeks ago, Farrell was speaking out against the ‘keyboard warriors’ who have directed abuse toward both Crowley and Prendergast.
No doubt Crowley hasn’t been able to shut it all out, but the 26-year-old says it can be easy enough to keep it off your screen.
“It is if you just put it away and don’t engage with it. It’s like anything, you have a choice and you can choose to not engage. You can choose to engage. And it’s just creating good habits, you know what I mean? Day to day, like with your nutrition or diet, or training performance.
You make a choice and you commit to it. And it’s just in general, trying to spend… A lot of people now, we’re talking about quality of life, and trying to spend time off the phone, when you’re in training and trying to connect with one another.
“Staying off the phone is one way that you can… Play Monopoly, or whatever it might be. So, yeah, that’s the way. Because we’re in camp in the evenings, you want to connect with one another, and that’s one way as well. Definitely, you always have a choice.”
The attention has created a somewhat strange, shared experience with Prendergast and the other Ireland 10s.
“There’s Harry, Frawls and the four of us, we all like to push each other, and that’s what gets the best out of one another.
“We’re always sitting down together looking at a laptop because the knowledge from one another, (someone) might have a different perspective on how we should run something and when you combine that with the coaches, you get the best of the best, and that’s what we’re like in camp, we work unbelievably well together.
“We’re all focused on getting the best out of ourselves for the team because if we’re doing that, then the team are getting the best out of one another.”
As for his own game, Crowley feels he is in a good place as he aims to lead Ireland through the games with Wales and Scotland, with a Triple Crown up for grabs.
“I suppose keeping things simple, keeping things process oriented. The game of rugby is quite uncertain, there’s a lot of unknowns, every game you face you try and predict what’s going to happen, but you have to also be aware that there’s a lot of things that mightn’t go your way and having processes for that as well.
“But I’m not really focusing too much on what’s going well and what’s not going too well. I’m just focusing on preparing day to day on how I can bring my best day to day, and then come gameday, who knows what could be thrown our way. I’m trying to just stay in the present, whatever skill sets are required of me then and there, that’s what I’ll be focusing on.”
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'You can choose to not engage' - Crowley back at 10 and shutting out the noise
WE ALL KNEW there would be more bumps in the road in the out-half battle, but few would have predicted a shuffle as drastic as what has unfolded in this Six Nations.
On paper, it’s nothing too out of the ordinary. Sam Prendergast went into the championship as the starting 10, but has since lost his place to Jack Crowley, the out-half option who is currently, undeniably, playing better rugby.
Crowley himself likely fancied his chances of wrestling the shirt back, but he might not have envisioned being so clearly out on his own heading into the final two rounds, starting with tonight’s home meeting with Wales [KO 8.10pm, RTÉ 2] – Prendergast misses out on the squad for the second game running, so Ciarán Frawley covers 10 off the bench while Harry Byrne, ruled out with concussion this week, is yet to get a look in.
Many are delighted to see Crowley back as leading man, given many felt he never should have been demoted in the first place. The Munster player is no doubt proud of fighting his way back from a difficult position, having suffered his own dip in form, but insists his motivation was never centered around proving a point to anyone.
“I feel like it’s not really about proving my point, or for anybody proving your point,” Crowley says.
“It’s more about just always continuing to find your best and how you can do that week to week, how you can do that from day to day, training. Then it’s about where you can add to the team so that you have 15 individuals out there that are bringing their best. And when you do that you get performances that come together, like England.”
A day like that England win must have felt a long time coming for Crowley. Two years ago he was the clear first-choice 10 as Ireland started their Six Nations with a stunning win against France in Marseille, going on to play every minute as Andy Farrell’s team won the championship.
Then Crowley hit some setbacks, losing his starting place to the emerging Prendergast that November. In the 2025 Six Nations, Crowley started the first four games on the bench before taking the number 10 again for the final round win in Rome.
The 10 battle remained turbulent, Crowley starting the first two November games in 2025, Prendergast taking over for the final two. The Leinster man remained in front for this year’s Paris opener and home win over Italy, but has now dropped out altogether, Crowley impressing in Twickenham and keeping his place this week. Both are fine players, and the pecking order may well continue to swing.
It’s not the path Crowley would have envisioned when he led Ireland through that 2024 Six Nations and looked the heir apparent to Johnny Sexton, but two years down the line he approaches the topic with a typical wide-lens view.
“I think the journey is one that you don’t ever want to wish to change anything about because you are here right now as you’re meant to be, and everything along the way is what made you who you are right now, and you can’t change anything in the past and it’s done. Like the future, you don’t know what’s coming and all you can control is right here right now.
“Bring your best right here, right now, and you look after the future because what you do now is what will determine what comes down the line. It’s never really about focusing too much on the past or looking too far forward. I had a tough training today, I’m thinking about getting back down to the gym to do a gym session, so that’s what’s on my mind. Just like I said, trying to stay as much in the now.”
Every step of that journey has taken place under intense scrutiny and attention. Before Twickenham, Farrell’s decision to remove Prendergast and promote Crowley was the biggest talking point in a team selection full of them. As the man in the eye of that storm, Crowley tried to keep a clear mind, and says he didn’t feel the pressure of the occasion.
“Being honest, no, because it comes back to process,” he says.
“You’ve got to find the balance because the occasion matters. You know what I mean? Like playing in Twickenham matters. Like (delivering for) the supporters, that matters. But then ultimately, to get the best out of your performance, you’ve got to find that balance between understanding the occasion that’s coming, understanding that opposition that you’re playing against. But then bringing it back to ‘how do I get a good performance?’ And for me, it’s bringing it back to process and just doing the right thing over and over again.”
The former Bandon RFC man talks like a man who hasn’t let the tough moments get to him. Yet just a few weeks ago, Farrell was speaking out against the ‘keyboard warriors’ who have directed abuse toward both Crowley and Prendergast.
No doubt Crowley hasn’t been able to shut it all out, but the 26-year-old says it can be easy enough to keep it off your screen.
“It is if you just put it away and don’t engage with it. It’s like anything, you have a choice and you can choose to not engage. You can choose to engage. And it’s just creating good habits, you know what I mean? Day to day, like with your nutrition or diet, or training performance.
“Staying off the phone is one way that you can… Play Monopoly, or whatever it might be. So, yeah, that’s the way. Because we’re in camp in the evenings, you want to connect with one another, and that’s one way as well. Definitely, you always have a choice.”
The attention has created a somewhat strange, shared experience with Prendergast and the other Ireland 10s.
“There’s Harry, Frawls and the four of us, we all like to push each other, and that’s what gets the best out of one another.
“We’re always sitting down together looking at a laptop because the knowledge from one another, (someone) might have a different perspective on how we should run something and when you combine that with the coaches, you get the best of the best, and that’s what we’re like in camp, we work unbelievably well together.
“We’re all focused on getting the best out of ourselves for the team because if we’re doing that, then the team are getting the best out of one another.”
As for his own game, Crowley feels he is in a good place as he aims to lead Ireland through the games with Wales and Scotland, with a Triple Crown up for grabs.
“I suppose keeping things simple, keeping things process oriented. The game of rugby is quite uncertain, there’s a lot of unknowns, every game you face you try and predict what’s going to happen, but you have to also be aware that there’s a lot of things that mightn’t go your way and having processes for that as well.
“But I’m not really focusing too much on what’s going well and what’s not going too well. I’m just focusing on preparing day to day on how I can bring my best day to day, and then come gameday, who knows what could be thrown our way. I’m trying to just stay in the present, whatever skill sets are required of me then and there, that’s what I’ll be focusing on.”
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Interview Ireland jack crowley Rugby Six Nations 2026