THE 2022 SIX Nations really isn’t that distant in the past but it must feel like a lifetime ago for Joey Carbery.
At that stage, he was the clear second-in-line to Johnny Sexton. When the Ireland captain was injured for the France game, it was Carbery who started at number 10. He kept his place against Italy in the next match, with Sexton returning off the bench. Carbery played in all five games of that campaign.
He had been seen by Ireland as the successor to Sexton for a long time, pretty much since he debuted in 2016. The IRFU even manufactured his move to Munster in 2018 to ensure he was playing at out-half as often as possible.
How quickly things have unravelled more recently for Carbery, who now finds himself completely out of favour with both Ireland and Munster. That he wasn’t included in Ireland’s 42-man training squad for the World Cup was no surprise at all.
Ireland’s out-half depth chart has been a volatile place in the past year, even if Sexton’s status as the main man is unchanged. It’s the slot or two behind him that have been ever-changing.
Nearly a year ago, Ireland named their travelling squad for the tour of New Zealand. Sexton was number one and Carbery was number two. Indeed, Carbery came off the bench in all three Tests. Things were still in a happy place for him.
Harry Byrne was the third out-half in Andy Farrell’s squad. Ireland had invested a fair bit of time into Byrne by that stage. He had earned two caps and word was that Farrell and his assistant coaches rated his potential, even if Harry was behind his older brother Ross in Leinster. At that point, Ross was completely out of the Ireland frame.
Joey Carbery was with Ireland for the Italy week this year. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Harry had been pencilled in to start Ireland’s midweek games against the Maori All Blacks at out-half, giving him a chance to really lead an Irish team. But he suffered an injury almost as soon as they landed in New Zealand and wasn’t able to feature.
So it was that Ciarán Frawley, who had been playing most of his rugby at inside centre for Leinster, moved to out-half and impressed in the Maori games, particularly the second one that Ireland won. Farrell and his coaches were struck by Frawley’s assurance around training too and he emerged from that tour as a possible contender to Carbery as Ireland’s second-choice.
That’s how it still looked last November when Frawley was included in the main Ireland squad along with Sexton and Carbery. But then Frawley suffered a serious knee injury in an Ireland A game against the All Blacks XV.
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Munster young gun Jack Crowley, who had shown his promise on the Emerging Ireland tour earlier in the season, came on for Frawley in that match and then replaced him in Farrell’s senior squad too.
Sexton started the autumn win over the Springboks before Carbery got another start at out-half the following week against Fiji, another indication that he was still seen as second-in-line to Sexton even that recently.
As it transpired, Carbery was forced off in the first half of the Fiji game with a head injury, allowing Crowley to make his Test debut off the bench.
And so, with Carbery now sidelined and Sexton carrying a calf niggle from the South Africa game, Ireland boss Farrell recalled Ross Byrne from the cold for the week of the final November Test against Australia.
Sexton was named to start against the Wallabies but lo and behold, he pulled out during the warm-up and Crowley was handed his first Test start. Byrne was promoted onto the bench and he won the game for Ireland with his nerveless long-range penalty.
It was a remarkable moment that underlined Byrne’s composure. He was in flying form with Leinster too and by the time this year’s Six Nations rolled around, Ireland viewed him as Sexton’s back-up.
Ross Byrne after Ireland's Grand Slam. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
With Crowley the third out-half in Farrell’s squad, Carbery was omitted altogether in a major shock. Frawley was still injured at that stage, while Harry Byrne was trying to get fit and stay fit.
So now Ross Byrne was the man supporting Sexton, featuring in all five games of the Grand Slam. Byrne started the win over Italy and was impressive in closing out the final 30 minutes of the victory over France. This was quite the stunning turnaround.
As the Six Nations ended, many people’s minds were made up that Byrne was nailed-on to continue as Sexton’s back-up at the World Cup. That may well be the case, but Crowley certainly has a thing or two to say about it.
The 23-year-old has demonstrated his big-match mentality in his last two matches with Munster, nailing a winning drop-goal against Leinster in the URC semi-final and then coming up with some huge plays in the final victory over the Stormers.
Along with those illustrations of his mental strength, Crowley has shone with his fluid attacking skills, and also continued to show that he brings real venom in contact. He seems to love hitting rucks. In more ways than one, he is similar to Sexton.
Leaning towards recency bias, Crowley should be second in Ireland’s depth chart at out-half. Even leaning towards a long-term view, he seems like the heir apparent. But we know not to discount recent Test match form either. In that sense, Byrne is still coming off the back of a resurgent Six Nations campaign with Ireland.
The thing is that Crowley has been part of the Ireland set-up for a long time now and knows the system in depth.
He has always seen himself as becoming a key part of it. This is a guy who cold-called Ireland attack coach Mike Catt back in 2021 when he was nowhere near the Ireland mix and was very much third-choice out-half at Munster. Crowley was keen to chat to Catt about how Ireland played and what he could do to get into the picture.
Jack Crowley has made some big plays for Munster. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
They did some kicking sessions together and Catt could see that Crowley had confidence and authority. Crowley had already turned down Ronan O’Gara and La Rochelle to stay with Munster. As well as backing himself to become the main man in red, he also clearly felt he’d be in a green jersey sooner rather than later.
Crowley had to be more patient than he would have ideally liked in Munster and only earlier this season, he was playing at number 12 outside Carbery.
But now things have completely taken off for Crowley and his upward trajectory looks a little unstoppable. Ross Byrne will have something to say about that and his greater experience should help. He was a key figure in guiding Leinster into the Champions Cup final, even if he and his province had a tough experience against La Rochelle.
It’s a lovely place for Farrell to be and he now has Frawley back in his group. The fact that Frawley also plays at inside centre, fullback and even outside centre is very useful indeed, although out-half is his preferred slot. Who knows, Farrell could even bring Frawley as his third out-half with the skills to cover elsewhere. Stranger things have happened.
But who is second-in-line to Sexton? The truth is we don’t know and there are almost certainly twists and turns ahead over the summer, particularly with three warm-up games to come.
When Ireland finished up after their Grand Slam, it was Byrne but Crowley has continued to build a convincing case. They are both players with huge self-belief and love being the boss. To have these two fighting for the spot is a happy reality for Ireland.
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Who is second-in-line to Sexton after a crazy year in Ireland's depth chart?
THE 2022 SIX Nations really isn’t that distant in the past but it must feel like a lifetime ago for Joey Carbery.
At that stage, he was the clear second-in-line to Johnny Sexton. When the Ireland captain was injured for the France game, it was Carbery who started at number 10. He kept his place against Italy in the next match, with Sexton returning off the bench. Carbery played in all five games of that campaign.
He had been seen by Ireland as the successor to Sexton for a long time, pretty much since he debuted in 2016. The IRFU even manufactured his move to Munster in 2018 to ensure he was playing at out-half as often as possible.
How quickly things have unravelled more recently for Carbery, who now finds himself completely out of favour with both Ireland and Munster. That he wasn’t included in Ireland’s 42-man training squad for the World Cup was no surprise at all.
Ireland’s out-half depth chart has been a volatile place in the past year, even if Sexton’s status as the main man is unchanged. It’s the slot or two behind him that have been ever-changing.
Nearly a year ago, Ireland named their travelling squad for the tour of New Zealand. Sexton was number one and Carbery was number two. Indeed, Carbery came off the bench in all three Tests. Things were still in a happy place for him.
Harry Byrne was the third out-half in Andy Farrell’s squad. Ireland had invested a fair bit of time into Byrne by that stage. He had earned two caps and word was that Farrell and his assistant coaches rated his potential, even if Harry was behind his older brother Ross in Leinster. At that point, Ross was completely out of the Ireland frame.
Harry had been pencilled in to start Ireland’s midweek games against the Maori All Blacks at out-half, giving him a chance to really lead an Irish team. But he suffered an injury almost as soon as they landed in New Zealand and wasn’t able to feature.
So it was that Ciarán Frawley, who had been playing most of his rugby at inside centre for Leinster, moved to out-half and impressed in the Maori games, particularly the second one that Ireland won. Farrell and his coaches were struck by Frawley’s assurance around training too and he emerged from that tour as a possible contender to Carbery as Ireland’s second-choice.
That’s how it still looked last November when Frawley was included in the main Ireland squad along with Sexton and Carbery. But then Frawley suffered a serious knee injury in an Ireland A game against the All Blacks XV.
Munster young gun Jack Crowley, who had shown his promise on the Emerging Ireland tour earlier in the season, came on for Frawley in that match and then replaced him in Farrell’s senior squad too.
Sexton started the autumn win over the Springboks before Carbery got another start at out-half the following week against Fiji, another indication that he was still seen as second-in-line to Sexton even that recently.
As it transpired, Carbery was forced off in the first half of the Fiji game with a head injury, allowing Crowley to make his Test debut off the bench.
And so, with Carbery now sidelined and Sexton carrying a calf niggle from the South Africa game, Ireland boss Farrell recalled Ross Byrne from the cold for the week of the final November Test against Australia.
Sexton was named to start against the Wallabies but lo and behold, he pulled out during the warm-up and Crowley was handed his first Test start. Byrne was promoted onto the bench and he won the game for Ireland with his nerveless long-range penalty.
It was a remarkable moment that underlined Byrne’s composure. He was in flying form with Leinster too and by the time this year’s Six Nations rolled around, Ireland viewed him as Sexton’s back-up.
With Crowley the third out-half in Farrell’s squad, Carbery was omitted altogether in a major shock. Frawley was still injured at that stage, while Harry Byrne was trying to get fit and stay fit.
So now Ross Byrne was the man supporting Sexton, featuring in all five games of the Grand Slam. Byrne started the win over Italy and was impressive in closing out the final 30 minutes of the victory over France. This was quite the stunning turnaround.
As the Six Nations ended, many people’s minds were made up that Byrne was nailed-on to continue as Sexton’s back-up at the World Cup. That may well be the case, but Crowley certainly has a thing or two to say about it.
The 23-year-old has demonstrated his big-match mentality in his last two matches with Munster, nailing a winning drop-goal against Leinster in the URC semi-final and then coming up with some huge plays in the final victory over the Stormers.
Along with those illustrations of his mental strength, Crowley has shone with his fluid attacking skills, and also continued to show that he brings real venom in contact. He seems to love hitting rucks. In more ways than one, he is similar to Sexton.
Leaning towards recency bias, Crowley should be second in Ireland’s depth chart at out-half. Even leaning towards a long-term view, he seems like the heir apparent. But we know not to discount recent Test match form either. In that sense, Byrne is still coming off the back of a resurgent Six Nations campaign with Ireland.
The thing is that Crowley has been part of the Ireland set-up for a long time now and knows the system in depth.
He has always seen himself as becoming a key part of it. This is a guy who cold-called Ireland attack coach Mike Catt back in 2021 when he was nowhere near the Ireland mix and was very much third-choice out-half at Munster. Crowley was keen to chat to Catt about how Ireland played and what he could do to get into the picture.
They did some kicking sessions together and Catt could see that Crowley had confidence and authority. Crowley had already turned down Ronan O’Gara and La Rochelle to stay with Munster. As well as backing himself to become the main man in red, he also clearly felt he’d be in a green jersey sooner rather than later.
Crowley had to be more patient than he would have ideally liked in Munster and only earlier this season, he was playing at number 12 outside Carbery.
But now things have completely taken off for Crowley and his upward trajectory looks a little unstoppable. Ross Byrne will have something to say about that and his greater experience should help. He was a key figure in guiding Leinster into the Champions Cup final, even if he and his province had a tough experience against La Rochelle.
It’s a lovely place for Farrell to be and he now has Frawley back in his group. The fact that Frawley also plays at inside centre, fullback and even outside centre is very useful indeed, although out-half is his preferred slot. Who knows, Farrell could even bring Frawley as his third out-half with the skills to cover elsewhere. Stranger things have happened.
But who is second-in-line to Sexton? The truth is we don’t know and there are almost certainly twists and turns ahead over the summer, particularly with three warm-up games to come.
When Ireland finished up after their Grand Slam, it was Byrne but Crowley has continued to build a convincing case. They are both players with huge self-belief and love being the boss. To have these two fighting for the spot is a happy reality for Ireland.
Get instant updates on your province on The 42 app. With Laya Healthcare, official health and wellbeing partner to Leinster, Munster and Connacht Rugby.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
depth chart Ireland jack crowley Munster pecking order Ross Byrne