David Corkery on rugby: Jack Crowley showed why the future is here already for Ireland

JOHNNY who?

It is going to take a man with an incredible amount of discipline and staying power to ever even come close to the records Johnny Sexton and Ronan O’Gara have forged. However, if Friday night’s performance by Jack Crowley is anything to go by he will be the man to give it one hell of a shot.

Playing with a level of maturity and control way beyond his age, Crowley has firmly put his best foot forward to further convince Andy Farrell that he is the man to take full ownership of the famous number 10 jersey.

Slotting six out of his seven shots at goal and orchestrating all of Ireland's attacking strategies. The West Cork man has announced to the world that he is much more than just Johnny Sexton's replacement.

I might be getting a bit carried away at this early stage of the tournament, but Crowley has now put himself in the driving seat for a British and Irish Lions plane ticket to Australia during the summer.

I don’t think there is a rugby fan in the world who would have come close to predicting the final score of this game. I’d even go as far as to say the Irish coaching ticket couldn’t believe what was unfolding in front of them.

Much of the hype around this game centred on the fact that the playing venue had to be moved to Marseille because Stade de France is undergoing renovations in preparation for the summer Olympics. As Marseille is sited in the heartland of French rugby it would give the hosts an even bigger boost. Going forward it looks like Les Bleus will have to rethink this strategy.

Come the final whistle Ireland had managed to cross the French try line on five separate occasions and dear I say it the French looked as if they didn’t really care.

Yes, Ireland were magnificent in how they went about suffocating their hosts, but for a French team that is made up of very well-paid professional rugby players, it looked as if most of them would rather be sitting in a nearby café, sipping a glass of Chardonnay and puffing on a Marlboro cigarette.

Or let’s put it another way, as soon as the Irish players questioned their opponents' traditional rugby bloodline, their DNA turned a brighter shade of yellow and they ran for the hills.

I know the French have a rather laid-back approach to playing the game and they almost expect things just to happen for them through their hulking forwards and swashbuckling backs. On Friday night the majority of the players that were chosen to represent their country should take a very honest look at this match and seriously re-evaluate their international aspirations.

I can understand that rumblings are doing the rounds that this French squad is not overly happy with their boss Fabien Galthié, but surely playing for your country should make you rise above any grievances you have and play with a bit of pride.

The best way to defend in any sport is to hold on to the ball and starve the opposition of opportunity.

Depriving France of possession is like cutting off their oxygen supply and that’s exactly what Ireland did during their incredibly impressive bonus point victory on Friday night.

Even though this was only the first game of the 2024 Six Nations it was billed as somewhat of a competition decider because of just how poor the other four nations have become.

For the first 35 minutes of the opening half, Ireland made the French look like they had just awakened from a month’s sleep.

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Never over-committing bodies to rucks, Crowley always had multiple options open to him when he had the ball and the French defensive system simply had no answers to this.

Bundee Aki, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Beirne, man of the match Joe McCarthy and Caelan Doris ran some sublime lines off Crowley’s flat passes and this allowed for the ever-busy Jamison Gibson-Park to hit the next wave of green jerseys before the French even knew what was happening.

A second yellow card awarded against Paul Willemse 30 minutes into the game which resulted in him getting sent off didn’t exactly help the pitiful French, but at that stage, Ireland had already established a firm grip on proceedings and the French had the white flag flying high.

Newly appointed captain Peter O’Mahony really couldn’t have asked for a more convincing start to his tenure and it is going to take a very good team to even come close to halting his squad of players.

Next week Farrell and company will return to the Aviva for should be another resounding victory against the Italians.

I don’t want to down the spirited Azzurri before a ball is even kicked, but currently, this Irish side seems to be operating on a different level to everyone in the Northern Hemisphere and if the Italians who lost 97-17 to New Zealand in the World Cup don’t get their act together, the Six Nations committee should really look at replacing them.

I guess the disappointment of the World Cup will raise its head now and then, but if Farrell could manufacture back-to-back Grand Slams, it would go a long way toward easing the pain for those who are still lacing up their boots in anger.

Well done to all.