Potential.

All eyes were on Munster fly-half Jack Crowley ahead of Ireland’s huge Six Nations opener against France a fortnight ago as he got set to fill some pretty big boots following the retirement of former captain Johnny Sexton.

Sexton finally hung up his boots after the Rugby World Cup in France last year, with Crowley the first man up to have a crack at making the Irish 10 jersey his own – and he has not disappointed so far.

The 24-year-old has been a revelation in the opening rounds of the championship, playing a key role in two massive wins over France in Marseille, and Italy in Dublin last weekend.

Big things are expected from the young fly-half, and one of the greats has made a bold claim based on what he has seen from the Munsterman so far.

Wales legend Jonathan Davies is so impressed with Crowley that he believes he could be even better than Johnny Sexton, who many feel is one of Ireland’s greatest players of all time.

“I think he stepped up against France, and he just looks so comfortable. He’s got huge, huge potential,” Davies told BBC Sport.

He takes the ball to the line, he double pumps a lot, but he’s got the confidence to go through the tackle a lot,

“His goal-kicking isn’t that great at the moment, but it’s just the confidence that he plays with.

“He’s come in for Sexton, which is big shoes to fill, and I think that he is really, really coping well with international rugby.

“He’s got great awareness. They will be very, very happy with the way that he is playing, the way that he has stepped into that stand-off position. He looks very comfortable.”

Davies believes that Crowley is showing more potential than Sexton did at his age.

“In that side and the way they’re playing, and their rugby intelligence at the moment, he could really become a world-class player,” he added.

“That’s early in his career, and he’s running the show already. I know it’s only Italy, and they nilled them, but I’m looking at last week. He’s got the confidence and the awareness of an experienced player.

“The work that the forwards do and the positions that they get. The shortness of the passes, they run in pairs, and if you run in pairs, you take defenders off the ball carrier.

“They get easy yardage, so he’s going to be playing more on the front foot than maybe Sexton did early on his career.”