IT’S EASY TO see why Ireland like coming to Portugal at this time of year.
For the last number of seasons Andy Farrell’s squad have tuned up for the Six Nations by spending a week at the impressive Campus facility in Quinta do Lago, where the warm-weather training is complemented by the odd trip to the beach or visit to one of the countless golf courses which cover this tidy spot of the Algarve.
On a warm January morning there is plenty happening at the facility, which includes a full grass training pitch along with a gym, tennis courts, padel courts, a café and a bar. After a morning session on the grass the Ireland squad break up into groups, some heading for media duties, others going for lunch.
The Ireland staff are kept busy too. As scrum coach John Fogarty sits down to provide a quick update on how the week is going, he reveals he’s up against attack coach Mike Catt on the padel court after our chat.
Even with a huge Six Nations opener against France waiting on Friday [KO 8pm Irish time], there’s a relaxed atmosphere around the Ireland camp, with every member of the travelling squad fit and available for selection.
“Yeah, we’re good, a clean bill of health which is great,” says Fogarty.
“For us, it’s building on what we’ve done over the last few months and couple of years. You can call it what you want, that’s what we’re focusing on. We have a good body of work done, there’s really good experience built into the squad, and there’s been some tough days over the last number of years, and there’s nice resilience built into the squad.
“We’re going to build on top of what we’ve done, and it’s unbelievably exciting to have out first game. What an opportunity to go and show what we can add a little bit different, or a little bit more, in Marseille with a packed crowd against a world class side like France.
It’s a brilliant opportunity in front of us, we need to go and make it happen, make a performance happen for ourselves.”
It’s been over three months since this Ireland squad crashed out of the World Cup quarter-finals, a gut-wrenching end to a tournament which had promised so much for Andy Farrell’s side. Ireland went into the tournament as the top-ranked side in the world and a potential World Cup final meeting with host nation France had looked on the cards until New Zealand and South Africa spoiled the party across two classic quarter-final meetings in Paris.
Both teams were devastated to fall short at the World Cup and while that pain lingered over the winter months, it hasn’t tempered the anticipation ahead of Friday’s Six Nations opener in Marseille.
Last year’s meeting in Dublin produced one of the great Six Nations games and though the likes of Johnny Sexton and Antoine Dupont won’t be on the pitch this time around, there will be no shortage of star power at the Stadé Velodrome.
France’s gifted backline usually take the headlines but for Ireland, the first challenge will be getting some dominance over a powerful French pack.
“They’re a big side, a huge side,” Fogarty says.
“They’re settled as well. I know they have a couple of guys missing, but they’re settled, just like us. They’ve a lot of power and weight in their side.
“We talk a lot about being nice and smart in how we enter contact in our maul, in our scrum, our lineout, being nice and clear in our heads.
“Weight is one thing, but we feel we’re a big, powerful side with great experience, we’ve come through a few years now and have taken learnings.
“This is the type of pack we want to play against. This is the arena we want to be in. It’s about the lads getting after it now.”