Brian O’Driscoll weighs in on Crowley vs Prendergast with some interesting findings
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Battle at 10.
Former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll has weighed in on the Jack Crowley vs Sam Prendergast debate ahead of the upcoming November internationals.
Prendergast was preferred to Crowley in the Six Nations, but question marks continue to surround his defence, and O’Driscoll is in agreement.
The legendary centre thinks Prendergast edges Crowley in terms of attack, Crowley is the better defender, and is more willing to get ‘stuck in’ so to speak.
He reckons if you could combine the two players, you would have one hell of a 10, but Ireland boss Andy Farrell will, of course, have to choose one or the other.
“I think if you put Crowley’s defence and Prendergast’s attack together, you would have a really, really, really great player,” O’Driscoll said on Off The Ball
“I think Crowley’s got a nice edge to him, has never shied away from any of the physical. I’ve seen him getting narky and hitting rucks. Someone gets a cheap shot on him and he tries to get back, I love that.
“If you could almost amalgamate, I think you’ve got a really, really great player on your hands”
“I think Crowley’s attack game is significantly less authoritative than Prendergast’s, and an ability to create space – just his body shape and timing it.
“That is a difficult learned skill, I think that’s innate as well. Prendergast just understands it around timing and when to let the pass go, whereas I would say that Crowley’s a tiny bit more mechanical, a little bit more learned.
“It’s still incredibly effective, don’t get me wrong, but I just don’t think he has that natural inclination the way Prendergast does. However, he has a natural inclination for wanting to hack guys down.”
