Jack Crowley: 'It's a challenging time for everyone at Munster'
Michael Bolton
On and off the pitch, the struggles have been clear for everyone to see at Munster, but Jack Crowley says this will serve as motivation for the team.
Munster's last game was a defeat to Exeter in the Challenge Cup last 16, where a poor first half ended their European season.
In the URC, they currently sit in seventh, with the top eight qualifying for the play-offs. Importantly, from a financial point of view, Munster would also qualify for the Champions Cup.
As they prepare for a crucial game against Benneton this Saturday, Crowley admitted some tough conversations had been had.
“We met as a group and had really good, honest conversations with one another, and ultimately we came down to the responsibility of the players to deliver on-field performance, and with that, the individual responsibility of each player in the whole group to be pushing themselves every day to be getting the best out of themselves in the preparation, and we just asked for lads to be honest with themselves if they’re giving everything.
“We’ve had a really good response and as a group we’ve acknowledged everything in terms of performance that we need to get better at.”
Munster's two wins in their last 10 games come at a time where they financial issues have made the headlines, as they are offering voluntary redundancies to staff.
In a tough period for everyone involved with the club, Crowley put into perspective what playing for Munster means to people in the province.
We are the fortunate few that get to go out onto the field and represent a community far greater than ourselves.
"We’re just a few individuals in the jersey, representing many before us and that’ll come after us, and our responsibility now is to focus on this week, this training week, every day, to get better so that we can deliver a performance on Saturday that the people of Munster will be proud of, those people (potentially facing redundancy) will be proud of, and we flip this thing on its head and move the whole thing in the right direction."
Crowley's form has been on of the few positives for Clayton McMillan's side this season.
He has firmly made the fly-half jersey his own for Ireland, as he guided Andy Farrell's side to the Triple Crown.
For Munster, it is a familiar position he finds himself in, as they once again need big results at the end of a difficult season.
They managed to do it last season, and their 2023 URC title win, and Crowley hopes the team looks back on those experiences. "There is a lot to be said for pulling on past experiences; there is a lot to be learned from them.
"It is a great reference point to go off. There is a different context in different seasons, given the opposition and whether it is home or away.
"There’s great belief in the group, there’s great motivation in the group, and we certainly believe that there’s something quite (special) possible, you know, and it starts with this week. Genuinely, it starts this week. We deliver a performance, who knows? We may be laughing about this next season when we go great or whatnot, but we’ll see.
“You know, something like lifting a trophy is amazing, but if I fast forward to a few weeks, and let’s say we deliver everything that we say we’re going to deliver and deliver performances and we’re in a far better position, sometimes we look at ‘a getting there’ moment and with that view, you tend to lose sight of what’s in front of you and you don’t take enjoyment from the everyday."
