JOLLY GOOD VELO
Farrell backing Jack and other new faces to cope in Marseille cauldron
IRELAND boss Andy Farrell insists his Six Nations novices can shine in the red-hot Orange Velodrome in Marseille.
Farrell has handed first Six Nations starts to Jack Crowley, Joe Mccarthy and Calvin Nash, the trio among four changes made from Ireland’s last outing – the World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand in October.
Munster out-half Crowley, 24, and Leinster lock Mccarthy, 22, have big game experience in the Test environment from the World Cup last year.
Both made their Ireland debuts against Australia in November 2022 but only have nine starts between them at this level.
Nash, 25, made his debut in the World Cup warm-up against Italy but did not travel to France 2023.
It will be a massive night for Crowley in particular as he dons the No.10 shirt.
His predecessors, from David Humphreys through Ronan O’gara to Johnny Sexton, were all well bedded in on the international stage before having to take centre stage.
However, Farrell is not worried that Crowley, whose only previous Six Nations appearance was a three-minute cameo against Italy last year, lacks that kind of experience.
He said: “You can’t just say that it’s just down to experience. It’s down to performing when you get the chance.
“Someone like Jack and Ciaran Frawley, Harry Byrne not as much because he’s been injured quite a bit, they’ve had plenty of opportunities to show in camp that they’re capable of taking the jersey.
“Now they’ve got that chance and then on the back of that you have young Sam Prendergast who’s come in and had 10 days with us and is a pretty impressive young fella, who is hungry to make it as soon as he possibly can.”
Crowley also played a starring role in Munster’s march to the URC title last season and grew into the Sexton understudy role at the World Cup.
“Well, he’s a confident kid, Jack, so being able to grab hold of the team... it’s tough for young kids, especially with responsibilities in his position but he feels very comfortable in being able to do that,” said Farrell.
“How you run a week is pretty important and you’re making sure that the rest of your teammates feel that you’re in control.
“He’s obviously learned a lot from Johnny in that regard.
“Harry is pretty good at that as well and Ciaran Frawley is getting better at that but the only thing that matters is the performance, isn’t it?”