Christy O'Connor: Is it more important for Cork or Limerick to secure an early win? 

In the lead-up to today’s Ireland-England Six Nations opening match, one of the biggest talking points centred around who would start at out-half, Jack Crowley or Sam Prendergast?

It’s been a difficult time for Crowley, who replaced Johnny Sexton in the Irish number 10 shirt after he retired. 

Despite having only played three minutes off the bench in the Six Nations, against Italy in Rome in 2023, Crowley acquitted himself really well in last year’s tournament as soon as he was handed that immense responsibility.

NATURAL

Crowley was seen as the natural successor to Sexton, but the debate about Crowley’s potential hold on the jersey was stirred up back in November when interim head coach Simon Easterby picked the 21-year old Prendergast to start Ireland’s final two Autumn Nations Series games against Fiji and Australia.

The discussion has raged ever since. Crowley is more experienced and physically more developed. Prendergast still has to prove that he can thrive at this level but, since everyone has already seen what Crowley can do on this stage, was it more of an investment to make a braver call, and see if Prendergast could handle the pressure from the outset of the tournament?

Last summer, Leinster made that calculation when head coach Leo Cullen included Prendergast in the Leinster 23-man squad for the first time, coming off the bench in an URC game against Ulster.

Back then, Ross Byrne was Leinster’s first choice number 10 while Leinster also had other solid options for the position in Ciarán Frawley and Harry Byrne.

Ross Byrne had been close to leading Leinster to the last two Champions Cup titles when starting the finals against La Rochelle and Toulouse but Cullen clearly felt that Prendergast had a higher ceiling, and was a better long-term option; by the time of their opening Champions Cup game against the Bristol Bears in early December, Prendergast had won the starting jersey.

Was Prendergast better than Byrne eight months ago? No. But Leinster felt he was a better long-term option for the team. And the faith shown in Prendergast by management, and the experience he accumulated along the way, fast-tracked Prendergast into the position he now finds himself.

There is a difference between professional and amateur sports but there are some comparisons between Prendergast’s situation and where some Cork young players have found themselves in the current hurling squad.

Pat Ryan has a solid track record of giving game-time to all of his panel during the spring but is it time to lengthen that game-time of some of the younger players during this campaign to see if more of them can survive – and thrive – on the front-line?

In Ryan’s defence, he has been restricted by injuries and having so many players involved in the Fitzgibbon Cup. He said last Saturday after the Wexford game that, given the amount of players involved in the Fitzgibbon Cup, Cork have been consistently training with around 24 players.

Management will invest faith in that group during the early games but the selection process is so heavily guided by metrics around S&C now that they often dictate where a player may sit in the queue in terms of being ready to perform at a certain level during the spring.

BALANCE

The desire to just roll young and inexperienced players into the team is further complicated by the demands to consistently secure points to be in with a chance of winning such a competitive competition.

Ryan and his management are in a much more secure position now than they were during last year’s league, when they didn’t know their best team. They do now, which should give them more licence to see if certain young players can stand up to the physical and technical challenges Limerick will now bring.

Nobody can question Ryan’s approach, but one of the biggest criticisms he faced last year was after the Waterford game, which was based on perception.

Despite knowing the young players so well, Ryan still believed that some of the older crew could give Cork what they need, without being the players they once were.

Ryan will fully believe that those players can push Cork on again this year. He will want, and need, to give those players game-time during the league to get ready for the championship, especially when he still knows what they can do – or what he hopes they can continue to do.

Data, form and consistency always supersedes loyalty. Ryan and his management have taken Cork a long way, but if they are still wondering if some of the younger players can be trusted to perform in championship ahead of more of the established crew, Saturday evening provides the ideal opportunity to see if they actually are.

Despite all the hype surrounding the game, it’s not exactly imperative for Limerick to win. 

The real test will come in May, but Limerick won’t want to lose to Cork for a third time in nine months either, and give Cork even more belief that they have Limerick’s number.

Another victory against John Kiely’s side would give Cork more confidence again. It would also set them up for a really good run in the league. Yet is it crucial for Cork to get the two points? No.

What’s more important is for Cork to find out if some lads pushed into the front line can perform on that front line against Limerick.