David Corkery on rugby: Jack Crowley simply has to be handed number 10 jersey for England clash

A win is a win, but the best team unquestionably lost.

It took a raft of Irish subs in the second half before Ireland were able to stem the flow of dominance that Italy brought on Saturday.

Arriving in Dublin on the back of a great win over Scotland, Italy took to the pristine turf of the Aviva with only one thing on their minds: to make it two wins from two in this year’s Six Nations.

Ireland were looking to bounce back from their disastrous opener against France but as the first 40 minutes ticked away, it looked as if Andy Farrell would be questioning his players' intent once again come the post-match interview. Thankfully, they managed to find some wind to fill their sails in the second half and opened up a 10-point lead.

Italy managed to claw it back to seven and Ireland were grateful for what can only be described as a very fortunate win.

Similar to Paris, Calen Doris and his players sat back and let their opponents take the game to them. Anything that Ireland threw at the Italians, the Italians doubled it and threw it right back.

It almost looked as if Ireland thought that just because they were at home that Italy would acknowledge this and lessen their efforts, but this was not to be the case. Spearheaded by a tackle-hungry back-row of Michele Lamaro, Manuel Zuliani and the industrious number eight Lorenzo Cannone, Italy came out on top in nearly every single collision but were helped by the utter complacency by the hosts.

It was very evident that the Italian players were more than willing to put their bodies on the line and it took until the second half the Irish players were prepared to do the same.

The number 10 debate has once again been thrown wide open after this. If the team is picked on form rather than reputation, Sam Prendergast will not be part of next week's squad traveling to London to face England, who are hurting after their loss in Scotland.

Apart from missing two very easy conversions that any half-decent junior player would convert, Prendergast failed miserably with his primary role to guide his team around the pitch and keep them on the front foot.

Many will argue that the Irish pack playing second fiddle in front of Prendergast didn’t give him an adequate supply of ball to work with. At this level though, a world-class fly-half should be able to make the most of anything they get and convert poor ball into momentum-turning opportunities.

Great players don’t look for excuses and at 10, the expectation is high.

Maybe all the modern external pressures of things like social media are starting to erode the 23-year-old's confidence. You have to turn a blind eye to that stuff and focus on the job. He should look at changing his approach to copy Scotland’s Finn Russell goes about his business with a carefree attitude.

OVERDUE

I will be shocked and very disappointed if Jack Crowley doesn’t start next week but also Harry Byrne should be promoted to the bench.

As he did in the French tie, Crowley made a very positive impact when he was introduced, and while his poorly executed kick to touch in the dying seconds of the game will haunt him, he certainly deserves a starting jersey at this point.

Another area of serious concern for Farrell ahead of next week’s mouthwatering tie against the English is the scrum. 

Maybe the Italians just have a very powerful and disruptive set-piece, but when you see two starting British and Irish Lions Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong getting folded in two, there is something very wrong somewhere.

Robert Baloucoune, James Lowe and Jamie Osborne all played well and won most of the aerial battles that they competed for, which was a major plus considering the poor returns they got against the French a week earlier.

As I said at the start, a win is a win, but the same flame that was burning bright under this Andy Farrell-guided set-up is seriously starting to flicker. 

Unless something radical happens, it will very quickly be extinguished.