Andy Farrell may have hoped to get more clarity on who is his back-up out-half, but Ross Byrne's outing against England is unlikely to have swayed the head coach one way or the other.
With captain Johnny Sexton suspended, his Leinster team-mate Byrne earned just his second start in three years in the 29-10 win at the Aviva Stadium in their second Summer Nations Series game.
A fit Sexton is certain to start for Ireland in crucial World Cup games but the battle to back up the 2018 World Rugby Player of the Year - between Byrne and Jack Crowley - still has to fully play out.
"He did well, he's very clear," was Farrell’s immediate post-game take on 28-year-old Byrne's game.
"He's very good at running the week and very clear of what he wants from the players around him so therefore there's good clarity.
"There's people who can fit in around that, that can play their game around that. So, his control is very good."
Byrne, winning his 20th cap, provided two direct assists from perfect long passes for second-half tries for James Lowe and Mack Hansen and was involved in the opening two tries for Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose.
He made 26 passes and kicked seven times in play, one going over Jamison Gibson-Park's head on the wing, and was a solid presence in defence, making six of seven tackle attempts.
Munster’s Crowley started in the win over Italy two weeks ago and his late-season form – where he helped his club claim a first United Rugby Championship in 12 years – has raised the real possibility that Byrne could be again usurped in the pecking order after fighting off competition from brother Harry, Jack Carty and Billy Burns over the last few seasons.
"Obviously with Johnny not kind of involved in the matchday, he's pretty good at giving you space to do your things, and Ross really stepped up this week and led the squad which a lot of us are used to seeing in a Leinster environment," said New Zealand-born scrum-half Gibson-Park, who won his 26th cap on Saturday.
"I'm pleased for Rossy to get a few minutes under the belt.
"[He played] good. It was one of those games that felt like it was pretty tough to manage at times, but overall he did a good job."
Crowley, 23 and now with five caps to his name, replaced Aki in the centre in the 58th minute and moved to out-half in place of Byrne with 11 minutes remaining.
He converted Keith Earls’ try from a difficult angle, while Byrne missed three from similar positions before that.
"Jack Crowley hasn’t had a huge amount to do tonight, hasn’t had many opportunities to leave his mark on the game but all the small things [can add up]," former Ireland out-half David Humphreys, co-commentator on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1, said.
"A couple of early missed conversions, [he comes] on and knocks a conversion over from the touchline."
Analyst James Downey reckoned that Farrell will mix and match his matchday squad out-halves depending on whether or not Sexton is involved, and that Cork native Crowley’s versatility will come into play.
"Before this game I would have said obviously Johnny starting, and then I would have Crowley on the bench, and if it was Johnny rested then I would have Ross starting and Crowley on the bench," said the former centre, who was capped by Ireland in 2013.
"Would I change it at the moment? Probably not. I’d still like to have Jack Crowley come off [the bench]. It’s harsh to judge [Byrne] on one game.
"If he plays again next week against Samoa and doesn’t produce again, potentially, I would drop him and put in Jack Crowley."
The win equalled Ireland’s longest Test winning run of 12 games and they will be heavy favourites to extend that with games against Samoa, on Saturday in Bayonne, and Romania, in the opening game of the World Cup, on Saturday week in Bordeaux.
Asked how the confidence levels were, Gibson-Park said: "I suppose if you put today aside we were feeling really good as a squad.
"Like I say, we thought we could put a better performance out but to England's credit they came to spoil the party, like they did in the Six Nations.
"They come with a gameplan to try shut us down and make it messy which they did in parts. We feel pretty good as a squad, we've put in tough work and are looking forward to the next few weeks for sure.
"For the most part we're just trying to get better at the building blocks of the last three years. We'll keep working away at it, and will put out a better performance next week."
Watch live coverage of Ireland v Samoa on Saturday 26 August on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio or follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app.
