Former Ireland international and Leinster player Gordon D'Arcy joined Monday Night Rugby to discuss Harry Byrne.
Harry Byrne is 23 years of age.
Once a member of the senior Ireland squad, Byrne has become a forgotten figure in Leinster as of late. Injuries have beset the early stages of his career to the point that he's never overtaken his brother, Ross Byrne, in the Leinster pecking order.
With Ross off with the Ireland squad, Harry started for Leinster and played 60 minutes this past weekend.
Harry played well overall but it was a training session-level competition for Leinster as they ran rampant. It was an opportunity for Byrne to show off his talent, but in the opinion of Gordon D'Arcy, his talent isn't the question mark that hangs over his head.
Ireland and Leinster need Harry to prove he can stay healthy through a full season and that he understands how to manage games rather than just show off his talent.
"He needs to put a six-month block together to show what he can do," D'Arcy said.
"The stuff he's naturally good at...he's very good at hiding his movement and he's very good at picking the right options. So he is really almost made for the way that Ireland play. But there's obviously massive concerns about whether he can string games together.
"I've been reasonably critical of Jack Crowley. So then the actual fundamentals, talent gets you in the shop window, and then the fundamentals are the bit that you're really squeezed on. And his game management is questionable as well."
The comparison to Crowley is interesting. Crowley is ahead of Harry Byrne and Joey Carbery in Andy Farrell's mind right now. We'll discover next week if he is ahead of Ross Byrne too. Harry and Crowley are the same age. So is Ben Healy who is now a Scotland international.
One of those two are the most likely long-term heirs to the #10 jersey in Ireland. So getting the most out of both moving forward will be vital for post-2023 World Cup success.
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