Munster’s interim head coach Ian Costello has addressed the future of Jack Crowley with the playmaker yet to officially commit to the province for next season.

The 25-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Irish province with claims that Leicester Tigers launched an audacious bid for the playmaker.

Springboks Rugby World Cup winner Handre Pollard is departing the Tigers at the end of the season and the English outfit are looking for another top-class fly-half to replace him.

Leicester Tigers’ tempting offer

Leicester reputedly offered £600,000 a year for Crowley, which understandably proved tempting for the Ireland pivot, but it was reported last week that the IRFU were ‘increasingly confident’ of him remaining at Munster.

Costello was duly asked about the current situation and he responded: “Confident”, before sounding a slight word of caution by adding: “but until things are official and done… yeah.”

It therefore suggests that Munster are very close to agreeing a deal, which would be of great relief to both the province and Ireland, who barely played him in the 2025 Six Nations.

Crowley was usurped by Sam Prendergast during the Autumn Nations Series in November and the Leinster youngster also took the 10 shirt for the first four matches of the recent northern hemisphere tournament.

The Tigers no doubt looked to play on any frustration the playmaker might have felt at seeing Prendergast take the reins for the national team.

However, it appears as though Crowley has rejected Leicester’s approach and is still committed to fighting for that Ireland role.

👉 Jack Crowley set to decide future as ‘lure’ proves too strong for Ireland fly-half – report

He certainly did his chances no harm with a fine display in Munster’s 30-24 victory over Connacht in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.

The fly-half was utterly outstanding in that clash and was a big reason why the 14-man visitors went away with a win after Alex Nankivell was sent-off in the opening period.

Impressive Crowley

“To be fair to Jack, he would have come back and played in the middle [of the Six Nations], he would have played against Edinburgh [on February 28] and he would have loved to have played but he understands the game management side of it and he understands that his focus was on the Six Nations. But Jack always wants to play,” Costello said.

“There was a big difference in leading the team for the week and he led the preparations really, really well and today you saw a guy, I’d say, who was very confident in the prep he had and very confident in himself.

“And I thought there was a lot of self-belief out there, wasn’t there, the way he played the game.”

Crowley combined nicely with half-back partner Craig Casey, who was playing his first game in over three months after injury ruled him out of the Six Nations.

“It’s just control and composure. Jack was just so composed the whole way through in terms of line breaks, his passing range, his kicking range, but he just brings confidence to everyone around him,” Costello added.

“And then Craig had that balance of energy and composure as well. I think we’ve all seen enough games to know how important your game drivers are. I thought our game drivers were excellent.”

👀 READ MORE: Ireland risk losing Jack Crowley as Leicester Tigers launch ‘audacious bid’ to fill Handre Pollard’s void

Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/munster-boss-drops-major-jack-crowley-hint-amidst-uncertainty-over-ireland-fly-halfs-future