SHOULD IRELAND’S MANAGEMENT team have replaced Johnny Sexton with the fresh legs of Jack Crowley towards the end of Saturday night’s heart-breaking defeat against New Zealand?
That was one of the questions posed on today’s Rugby Weekly Extra, the podcast for subscribers to The 42.
Bernard Jackman, former Ireland hooker, said he would have left the vastly experienced out-half on the field.
“I think he had a much better chance of unlocking that defence than Jack so I wouldn’t have made that call,” Jackman said. “I know a lot of people feel he was maybe out on his feet. I rate Jack massively but I think that’s a huge call to take off Sexton when you’re chasing the game, I really do.”
“That’s where I sit as well,” said Murray Kinsella, rugby journalist with The 42. “I totally understand the argument, and I understand that Crowley . . . he’s a threat isn’t he?
“He goes at the line and I think he has the temperament as well for it. And I think that’s one of the reasons that, going forward, when we come out of this, there’s cause to be confident.
“They sent him on against South Africa, they showed faith. They sent him on against Scotland, he did really well. He’s had a good last year . . . but if I was in those Irish coaches boots I would not have taken your best player off, your talisman, and a guy who has nailed a drop goal at the end of an unbelievable last passage in 2018, who has proven himself in those moments and who directed the attack fairly well, I thought, right until the very death.
The 42 Podcasts / SoundCloud
“And you look at other teams . . . (Antoine) Dupont was never coming off for France. The All Blacks didn’t take Aaron Smith off, they didn’t take (Richie) Mo’unga off, they didn’t take (Beauden) Barrett off, your key drivers of the game.”
Kinsella said that because Sexton is 38 “people focus on him more” in these cases but that towards the end of Saturday night’s frantic match everybody was feeling the breathless pace.
“They were all out on their feet,” Kinsella said. “It was basically a case of trying not to drop the ball, trying not to give away a penalty and while it was dramatic and exciting it probably the worst batch of rugby in the game from a purely objective point of view. Given what he’s done in the game, given that he is the driver of the team, I personally would have also left him on the pitch.”
If you are not already a subscriber and want to hear this podcast in full, click here to sign up and enjoy unlimited access to The 42.
