Among the many quandaries laid at Andy Farrell's door as he prepares Ireland for the Six Nations, he may not have expected to find a dilemma on who to start on the wing.
For the best part of two years, Connacht's Mack Hansen and Leinster's James Lowe have made the wing spots their own, helping Ireland to a series win in New Zealand in 2022 and a Grand Slam triumph in 2023.
Lowe, however, has spent much of this season sidelined through injury, while Hansen will miss the Six Nations after discolating his shoulder against Munster earlier this month.
Though Lowe returned to action for Leinster during the weekend's Champions Cup action and is expected to start for Ireland in the Six Nations, Hansen's spot is up for grabs - and ex-Ireland wing Andrew Conway thinks there is an outstanding candidate to take his place.
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Andrew Conway sees Calvin Nash as natural Mack Hansen replacement
Conway spoke to Balls and the Irish media to launch Virgin Media's coverage of the Six Nations this week and gave his thoughts on who may step in to replace Mack Hansen in Andy Farrell's Ireland team.
Recently-retired Conway shared his belief that former Munster teammate Calvin Nash has "X-factor" quality, and every skill required to make it at the top of international rugby.
13 January 2024; Calvin Nash of Munster scores his side's fourth try during the Investec Champions Cup Pool 3 Round 3 match between RC Toulon and Munster at Stade Felix Mayol in Toulon, France. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
He also praised Nash's reaction to being left out of the World Cup squad, and said that the "sky is the limit" for the young Munsterman:
I think Calvin has done outstanding in any opportunity he’s got over the last two years. He obviously had a really good run last year, you know, I was out all year, and he took full advantage of that and was playing incredible rugby.
I definitely thought he was going to be a bolter for the World Cup [but] it was probably six months too early for him. I think what Faz looks for in players when they go through something that disappointing - how they react to it. He’s playing the best rugby he’s ever played and I think he’s got the all-round game to excel in the international stadiums.
There is a bit of a difference and I think because it’s taken him a fair amount of time to get there it reminds me of how long it took me to get there. The advantage of that is he’s had five or six years of provincial rugby to hone his skill set.
He has very few holes in his game. He’s an aggressive defender, he gets the technicalities, the systems, he’s naturally a very strong carrier and he’s now added a few strings to his bow in terms of his link play, getting in at first receiver.
You can go through the list of skills that are required to be a success at international and he’s got the X-factor. The sky’s the limit for Calvin if he keeps playing and if he’s able to transfer his form for Munster to Ireland in a really, really strong Irish team. He could be a serious, serious player for Ireland now, going forward.
Nash was again excellent for Munster in victory on the road against Toulon on Saturday, and seems to be edging clear of Jacob Stockdale and Jordan Larmour in the race for the final spot in Ireland's back three alongside Lowe and James Keenan.
18 January 2024; In attendance at Virgin Media Park in Cork ahead of VMTV's coverage of the 2024 Six Nations, is Virgin Media Park ambassador Andrew Conway. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
It will be a strange Six Nations for Andrew Conway, the first since he announced his retirement from professional rugby late last year.
The 32-year-old was forced into retirement by a knee injury, and steps away with 30 caps and 15 tries for his country. Conway said that he has not quite moved into the "real world" of post-retirement life yet but, despite feeling occasional twangs of wishing he was still playing, he is looking forward to watching the Six Nations from afar:
I don’t think I’m in the real world quite yet but...the dust has settled nicely. I'm spending a bit of time at home doing a fair bit of work myself, planning what’s next without jumping into anything from a commitment standpoint yet.
[I'm] taking my time with things. I was rehabbing for so long and put my knee through such a tough time on a daily basis that relief is probably my overriding emotion that I’m not doing that anymore.
There’s going to be little moments where you miss it. I don’t think that’s ever going to go away fully, you know, those big games, the win the lads had there on the weekend in Toulon.
I was up at the Leinster-Munster match at the Aviva and when they ran out, I was with a pal, and it was ‘ugh, I got a bit of a hit there’. That little moment in time before you go into the match and all the work is done, that was always one of my favourite parts.
I’m looking forward to watching the Six Nations. It’s always interesting after a World Cup, even more interesting with the way things ended from an Irish perspective and from a French perspective and France-Ireland is up first.
There’s no tougher place to go than France but there’s no better coach in the world than Andy Farrell to have the lads energised and emotionally recharged after what was a very disappointing end to the World Cup tournament.
Ireland get their Six Nations campaign underway against France in Marseille on Friday, February 2nd, with the game live on Virgin Media.
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