So long the preserve of Johnny Sexton and Owen Farrell, with a side of George Ford, today’s Ireland v England clash throws four young out-halves into the mix in what could be a fascinating narrative for years to come.
The old guard have moved on. Sexton retired after the 2023 World Cup, Farrell is in France toiling with Racing and Ford has dropped down the pecking order.
That’s 340 tests caps out of the picture, with 67 between the four 10s today.
While Jack Crowley and Ford started last season’s encounter, both men have made way for younger guns with Sam Prendergast and Marcus Smith first to draw pistols today.
Prendergast, just 21 and winning his fourth cap, got the nod ahead of Crowley, who had appeared to establish himself quickly as Sexton’s replacement.
He started all eight games after the former Ireland skipper retired and won a Six Nations and drew a series in South Africa.
Interim head coach Simon Easterby expects the 25-year-old Munster man, who has 19 caps, to push Prendergast and play a big role in this tournament, as the champions bid for an unprecedented three-in-a-row.
The similarities between Prendergast and Sexton are unmistakable. Prendergast, as he saunters back into position after a play, looks like a man who is running towards a bus he’s not sure he wants to get.
He has quickly moved up the fly-half pecking order at Leinster, usurping Ross Byrne, Harry Byrne and Ciarán Frawley in half a season.
There’s a lot to be said about playing behind a pack that can afford to bring RG Snyman off the bench but, even taking that into consideration, Prendergast looks the part.
His two tries against Bristol in the Champions Cup demonstrated a fine turn of pace and nose for the line. He’s not afraid to try unlikely passes or take quick taps – witness his attempts against Australia and more recently Bath – and more importantly, not afraid to get things wrong.
Standing opposite today is Harlequin Marcus Smith, picked over in-form Northampton back Fin Smith, who is on the bench.
Marcus will turn 26 in two weeks’ time and already has 39 caps under his belt. There was debate about his selection this week and whether his maverick free-wheeling manner suits a game where the aerial battle will be key.
Fin Smith’s game-management and flat-to-the-line danger, along with his Saints partnership with scrum-half Alex Mitchell, could easily have swayed Steve Borthwick, but the coach reckons the potential magic moments may swing this game.
Marcus, who scored the winning dropgoal against Ireland in Twickenham 11 months ago, has the stats to back up Borthwick’s reasoning.
Only wingers Damian Penaud of France, Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe and All Black Mark Telea bettered Smith’s average of 4.5 defenders beaten per 80 minutes and he was involved in almost 13% of their tries last year. All the more impressive considering he didn’t start a Six Nations game.
He can lift the crowd from a standing start. And given the back row selection of three breakdown specialists, Smith is expecting plenty of turnover ball to work with.
Only 22, Fin Smith has already led his club to a Premiership title and Munster fans have seen his threat up close in recent seasons.
He won’t be fazed if and when called off the bench for his seventh cap today.
Crowley has dropped down the line but, even in recent games, he’s shown his talent behind a Munster pack that has struggled to give him a platform anything like Prendergast enjoys.
The Cork man almost scored the try of the season against Saracens, twice collecting his own kick before taking his eye off the ball with the line at his mercy, and his full-court game in even more testing conditions at Franklins Gardens was probably his best in a Munster shirt.
“The way Jack has trained and played coming into the Six Nations means that Sam knows he’s got to keep raising his game and keep getting better,” said Easterby with the contented smile of a man with a first-world problem.
Sexton’s starting position, once he had seen off Ronan O’Gara, was never in doubt for more than a decade, but the age profile of both current protagonists suggests a tantilising battle, and the accompanying hype, will run for years.
Today is just the first chapter.
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