JACK CROWLEY will get his chance to roar tomorrow — but Simon Easterby is confident he will not be a Tiger.
Munster out-half Crowley, 25, will start his first Six Nations game of the season against Italy in Rome after getting the nod ahead of Sam Prendergast.
His selection also comes following a week of speculation that he is a target for Leicester Tigers, with any move putting him out of Ireland contention because of the IRFU’s home-based policy.
But interim head coach Easterby is confident that the No 10 will spurn the Tigers to stay in Ireland, claiming the Thomond Park fly-half knows how much he is valued.
Easterby said: “Every week in camp there have been guys who have renegotiated contracts and are staying with their provinces.
“Jack knows how important he is to us.
“Regardless of selection across the last four games, he understands the role that he has and the standing he has in the group.
“He’s a brilliant person, first and foremost, he’s a great pro. He’s always looking to get better and we believe that for him to keep getting better, keeping getting experiences at this level and keep driving us forward as a team . . .
“Being competitive in the No 10 position in particular, it’s important that he obviously plays his rugby in Ireland.
“And we are confident that will continue to happen.”
Easterby reiterated Ireland’s policy remains only picking players from the four provinces, and insisted the players know it too.
The former international — who spent the majority of his Ireland career playing with Welsh side Scarlets — said: “We feel, and the players know it, they get well looked-after here, they are looked after financially, in terms of management.
“Undoubtedly, we are fortunate that we are able to keep the players in Ireland.
“Some have gone away and spent time abroad, but we know the system works here and the system works for a reason.
“There’s real alignment between the union and the provinces.
“I’ve had great conversations through the last six or seven weeks with all the coaches, they’ve been so supportive.
“Players going back, trying to manage game time, trying to get players game time who maybe haven’t had it when they’re in camp, there was fallow weeks.
“Really what we’re trying to do is give players the best platform to perform.
“We believe that staying in Ireland allows them to do that.”
BENCH WARRANT
And he believes Crowley understands that too after regular conversations with the out-half around his role, which has lately seen him have to settle for a place on the bench.
Viewed as Johnny Sexton’s heir apparent following the Leinster man’s retirement, Crowley started the first nine games of the post-Sexton era before being overlooked for the last six in favour of Blues rival Prendergast.
Even when coming on in the last four games, he has played just 22 minutes at No 10, instead being used as an inside centre or full-back.
Easterby added: “He’s not hard work to have those conversations with. He gets it, he’s disappointed, like all those players are that don’t get to start the games but also get to understand the bigger picture.”
And this week, it is a role reversal as Prendergast is dropped for the first time in his Ireland career.
Easterby said: “If someone had said to him maybe eight or nine weeks ago, ‘You’ll have had four starts in the Championship under your belt’, he probably would’ve grabbed that and run with it.
“He’s a young man who has unbelievable potential to kick on and compete for that position for the next ten years.
“So I think he’ll hopefully reflect on this experience and go, ‘Right, this has given me a brilliant experience, a brilliant understanding of what it takes to play and perform and lead a team at this level’.”
HEALY DISAPPOINTED
Crowley is one of six changes to face Italy following last Saturday’s 42-27 defeat by France.
Garry Ringrose returns from suspension while James Lowe and Mack Hansen are back from injury.
Jack Conan and James Ryan get starts in the pack.
That means that Peter O’Mahony’s farewell appearance will come from the bench, as will that of Conor Murray.
Cian Healy is omitted altogether in favour of Jack Boyle, meaning the 37-year-old brought the curtain down on his career last week with a try on his 137th appearance.
Easterby said: “I had a conversation with Cian in the early part of the week and it is tough but we have very limited time to get players these types of experiences.
“So the likes of Jack Boyle, who has come in on the bench, he has been really good in training, he’s been excellent.
“We don’t have many opportunities at international level for meaningful games to get game experiences, get guys game time, so that was the conversation I had with Cian.
“I thought last week was so fitting for all three of them, the send-off they had, how the squad recognised that internally, how it was recognised externally in the Aviva and the nation, loads of messages coming in from people in terms of what they’ve given the jersey.
“Cian has been at the forefront of that.
“He was obviously disappointed but he understood the rationale behind it and he has been brilliant in the week.
“He will only make Jack’s role that much more effective by being the best team-mate that he can be. Cian gets it.”
