‘It’s at our discretion’ – Munster defend ‘massive decision’ to rest Jack Crowley for Leinster derby
Split Ian Costello and Jack Crowley of Munster.
Munster’s interim boss Ian Costello has defended the decision to rest Jack Crowley as the province looked to maximise their points potential.
Like many other unions, the Irish Rugby Football Union has restrictions on the amount of game time national players have, requiring provinces to rest their stars for a certain number of matches each season.
Over the weekend Costello made the bold choice to keep fly-half Jack Crowley on ice for the mammoth clash against Leinster that saw Munster go down 28-7 at home.
Stands by choice
Naturally, the defeat in front of home fans at Thomond Park without Crowley at the helm of the side led to criticism, but Costello remained strong on his choice.
“To be fair, the IRFU have recommended a number of games over a period,” said Costello. “It’s at our discretion when we rest players. We’ve different plans around different players giving us the best opportunity to get as many points as we possibly can. It’s always a massive decision for a player not to play in a game like this.
“If it wasn’t this one, it would have been Saracens or Northampton [in January] and we’d be having the same conversation. So, it’s probably one of those things where we feel we have to do the best thing for the team and for the squad at a particular point and Jack, as always, was outstanding about it.”
No words on future coach
As for the coaching unit that has been under Costello’s guidance since URC-winning coach Graham Rowntree was sacked back in October, there is no clear evidence on who will come in.
The interim boss could not give up much regarding the full-time choice with many hoping for two-time World Cup-winning coach Felix Jones to step into the role, which would make sense given his departure from England and previous involvement with Munster.
“There’s no timeline on it at the moment,” admitted Costello.
“I can’t comment at all. The process is ongoing and sorry for being vague on it. That’s just where it is at the moment. Plenty of applications but the process is ongoing and it will continue into the new year.”
