Jack Crowley’s transformation hailed by Gareth Steenson
The Ireland fly-half is in action for Munster against Exeter Chiefs this weekend
Gareth-Steenson
Jack Crowley has been transformed as a player thanks to a leap in his leadership skills according to long-time Exeter Chiefs fly-half Gareth Steenson.
The Munster and Ireland No.10 will head to Steenson’s old stomping ground on Saturday in an EPCR Challenge Cup encounter with Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park (live on Premier Sports 1 from midday).
And having impressed in seizing the Ireland starting fly-half jersey during the Six Nations, as Andy Farrell’s men came within a long-range Thomas Ramos penalty of winning the title, Crowley demonstrated just how far he has come as a leader for both province and country in the view of Steenson, who is currently with Ireland Women ahead of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
“Watching Jack from afar and having been fortunate enough to be around him a couple of times when we have been in camp with Ireland Women, I’ve seen how he operates,” said Steenson, who will be part of the Premier Sports punditry team providing live coverage of Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup last 16 matches this weekend. “Throughout the Six Nations, he was kind of looking for that opportunity that he got.
“What I like about Munster is that he has probably grown over the last 2-3 years, he hasn’t always been in a team that has been winning, he has had to learn how to manage a team and manage a game situation. They are not winning every week so he has to be a real general.
“It’s a bit like what happened with Ireland at the start of the Six Nations, the games probably didn’t go how we would have wanted them to go. But he stepped in and probably didn’t do anything that we didn’t know he can do. He played his game and put his stamp on it and the way he went over to England and put in that performance at Twickenham was phenomenal. You could see him grow in confidence.”
Crowley immediately shone for Munster, helping them to the URC title in 2023, before filling the gap left by Johnny Sexton’s retirement for Ireland as they won the 2024 Six Nations.
But Steenson believes that he has taken his game a lot further since that early success, stepping up after Munster and Ireland greats Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray called time on their careers at the end of last season.
He added: “This weekend will be great for him, it may not be the competition that Munster would like to be in, but it’s an opportunity to win a trophy. In a knockout game, away from home, in Europe, they will be better for the experience.
“The position you play, you get thrust in at the start, it’s a bit of a whirlwind and away you go. It’s like anything, it’s not always an upwards trajectory.
“He’s been in the changing room with these (Murray and O’Mahony), he’s played internationally with them and seen them in a different environment.
“As a 10, you are the quarterback of the team, whatever way the team looks, it tends to reflect on the fly-half. I look at Harlequins as the Harlem Globetrotters because that is the way that Marcus Smith likes to play. When Owen Farrell was at his best, Saracens were quite a hard-nosed team.
“Jack is starting to understand what he is as a player and he’s starting to imprint his character on the team. He’s a hard-nosed player who gets the job done, who has got some nice flashes of skill in there as well. He’s got all those attributes in his game. It’s starting to work for the way that Munster want to play. With Craig Casey, they are making a nice combination.
“I think from a leadership point of view, even compared to a year ago, I think he’s so much further down the line.”
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