Suspension has ruled fly-half Sexton out of his country’s warm-up matches against Italy, England and Samoa, leaving a trio of inexperienced understudies vying to stake their claim for the role. Frawley remains uncapped at international level, while his Leinster team-mate Byrne and Munster man Crowley have just four Test starts between them. Although forwards coach O’Connell acknowledges the stand-in options are Test rookies, he would back each of them to perform on the biggest stage if required. “It’s not all or nothing,” said the 43-year-old, who represented Ireland at four World Cups between 2003 and 2015. “They all want to go to the World Cup for sure, but selection for the World Cup is not an all-or-nothing thing.

Source: The Herald August 02, 2023 08:21 UTC