Jack Carty's 25-point haul in Connacht’s emphatic victory over Leinster last weekend proves that the 28-year-old out-half is back to his best.
That is the opinion of RTE Sport rugby analyst Donal Lenihan, who believes that the out-half now has to be considered for Ireland’s upcoming Six Nations campaign based on his current form.
Carty’s impressive points tally included two tries as Connacht secured the 35-24 bonus-point victory in Dublin.
Former Ireland captain, Lenihan, feels that the player suffered a crisis of confidence following the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but has now shown that he is back playing at international standard.
"He was outstanding," said Lenihan, speaking about Carty’s man of the match performance against Leinster, where Connacht ended the Donnybrook-based side’s long, unbeaten record.
"He obviously is a very good player who went through a period where he questioned himself last season, but he is back to his best now, and on the basis of that, it will be interesting to see if he can back that up against Munster this weekend.
"But I think we’ve seen enough and if he continues to perform at that level then he has to come back into the equation in terms of the Ireland squad for the Six Nations," said Lenihan, speaking on this week’s RTE Rugby Podcast.
Lenihan believes that Carty’s form and confidence took a major hit at the World Cup as he was the starting out-half for Ireland’s unexpected defeat to Japan.
"In the opening half of that game, he was outstanding, he set up two tries, but obviously the wheels came off in the second half.
"And I wonder if, psychologically, the fact that he was 10 for that game, losing a pool game that everyone expected Ireland to win, you just wonder what toll that took on his confidence.
"When he came back from the World Cup he lost his place to Conor Fitzgerald, who took his opportunity when Carty was away at the World Cup."
Fellow podcast guest, Bernard Jackman, was also impressed with Carty’s performance against his former side, as much for the way that he controlled the game once Connacht pushed clear in the game.
Jackman is a fan of Carty’s individual kicking style, while he felt that the overall performance was a "masterclass" from the Athlone native.
"Jack Carty’s kicking game was excellent – he has a really unusual technique," said Jackman.
"He was a very good soccer player, a very good Gaelic player, he kind of just chops the ball and it has a very low trajectory.
"And once they got that lead on the scoreboard, he didn’t take any risks, he kept kicking the ball off the field, giving his pack a bit of a breather, putting pressure on Leinster’s line-out, it was a masterclass from him."
And while Jackman feels that he is not an automatic choice for the Ireland out-half role, he felt that Carty’s performance and the result on Leinster’s home patch was a welcome boost to Connacht who have now pushed up to second spot in Conference B, despite losing three games from their eight played.
"He is a guy with a lot of talent, [however] his form has been in and out. I don’t think he is a guaranteed started for Ireland by any means, but it is just good to see a young player develop that game management that he showed at the weekend.
"And it was a great lift for Andy Friend, Jimmy Duffy and Nigel Carolan, as it’s been a tough season so far and that will give them huge confidence."
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