THERE HAVE BEEN afternoons and evenings when Andy Farrell’s disappointment at an Ireland performance was palpable.
It happens rarely enough. Paris 2026. Pretoria 2024. There have been a few others along the way.
Yet most of the time, Farrell gives the impression of someone who enjoys his job very much indeed. He has that air about him again in Sydney this week.
There are some key players injured, James Lowe is off the scene, and the Wallabies are desperate to end Ireland’s winning streak against them, but Farrell has the energy of a man who is thoroughly engaged with the task ahead of him.
He’s excited about trying to win the Nations Championship. He’s delighted to be back on tour, part of the game he always relishes. Still a passionate rugby league man, Farrell is enjoying taking in some of the league in Australia, with the deciding leg of State of Origin to come on Wednesday. He has cleared the schedule for that evening.
Ireland have enjoyed extensive success under Farrell’s guidance. It’s one of the best-paid jobs in the game. He, his wife, and two of his children love living in Dublin.
With all of that in mind, it’s no wonder that Farrell was happy to sign a new four-year contract extension with the IRFU that will keep him in place as Ireland head coach until the end of the 2031 World Cup.
“Very straightforward,” said Farrell of the negotiations that led to him signing the new deal.
“A compliment, massively. Really proud and privileged to be asked. Absolute no-brainer for me. I’ve said that all along, delighted to get it done.
“It seems like a long time ago now, and the job doesn’t change. It gives us a little bit more certainty as far as planning and stuff like that for the future, but the guts of the job, it doesn’t change.”
Given his achievements in the game, Farrell would not be short of interest from elsewhere in the game if he had decided to look for a change after the 2027 World Cup.
But the Ireland boss suggested that there were no formal offers from elsewhere this time, simply because Farrell was so keen to stay where he is.
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Farrell speaking at Ireland's team hotel. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“There’s always chats,” he said. “If we told you everything that’s going on behind the scenes, it’d be boring in the end because it’s just another old story.
“So, there’s always chats, but it’s whether with those chats if there’s an appetite to move them on. And there was no appetite to move them on anyway, so it was very easy.”
Farrell joked that his son, Gabriel, who plays rugby in Blackrock College, has got his way in chasing a playing career of his own with Ireland.
“If you asked him that three years ago, never mind if we get to the end of this contract, that would be a shoo-in, I would have thought,” said Farrell with a smile.
But the 51-year-old stressed that family was the most important consideration in deciding on his future.
“That was the only thing,” said Farrell. “When I got asked, I just said, ‘Can I have a week to just talk to family at home?’
“I’ve got a daughter over there living in England, and obviously Owen, his three kids and all that, and two living in Dublin. So, I had to have the right chats with them, and it was clear and obvious. So, off we go.”
Farrell’s next challenge is trying to beat the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday and make a strong start to the inaugural Nations Championship. He wants to win this competition at the end of the second window in November.
The World Cup next year looms already as the biggest target for Farrell’s Ireland.
Yet penning such a long-term contract suggests that the head coach is confident about his players continuing to perform at the highest level for years to come, as well as about younger players pushing through to compete.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter whether I do or I don’t because the squad changes the whole time, all the time, anyway,” said Farrell when asked if that’s his belief.
“You don’t know how a newish squad coming together is going to gel or whatever, but that’s the exciting part for me. The exciting part is the challenge of rebuilding a little bit and going again and trying to make people into a better team-mate than they thought they was going to be originally themselves.
“So, to get people to dream big and aspire to be something that they never dreamed of themselves is part of the whole process. I see that continuing in the future.”
Farrell with Simon Easterby and Andrew Goodman. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Some long-serving head coaches in the past, including Farrell’s predecessor Joe Schmidt, have spoken about their concern that their messages might stop landing as strongly with players if they continued in the role too long.
Farrell’s new contract puts him on track for a 12-year tenure as head coach, but he has no worries in this regard.
“I wouldn’t have took it in the first place if I didn’t believe in myself to be able to.
“No. I see me just being myself and continuing to make sure that I keep on improving as a coach. That’s it. If I’m doing that, we’ll be in a decent spot.”
Farrell’s assistant coaches are contracted until the end of the 2027 World Cup, but not beyond that.
The Ireland boss underlined how highly he rates Paul O’Connell, Simon Easterby, John Fogarty, Andrew Goodman, and Johnny Sexton, but said it’s too early to make decisions about how his coaching team will look post-2027.
Some of them may want to move on, or Farrell might want to shake things up at that stage.
“Look, I think everyone knows what I think of the people that we’ve got on board, and they are top drawer,” said Farrell. “Our coaches are top drawer. In fact, we’re even better as a collective. So, everyone knows what I think of them.
“But the reality is that a couple of them have only just resigned until the World Cup anyway. So, there’s plenty of time for conversations down the line.
“Whatever’s best for the team. My job, 100% – like I keep saying about selection, and it’s with anyone within our staff or the bigger picture of the organisation that’s connected with the team – is to do the right thing by the team.
“And if we feel that that’s the case, these things will become obvious as we move on.”
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'Family was the only thing... it was an absolute no-brainer' - Farrell
THERE HAVE BEEN afternoons and evenings when Andy Farrell’s disappointment at an Ireland performance was palpable.
It happens rarely enough. Paris 2026. Pretoria 2024. There have been a few others along the way.
Yet most of the time, Farrell gives the impression of someone who enjoys his job very much indeed. He has that air about him again in Sydney this week.
There are some key players injured, James Lowe is off the scene, and the Wallabies are desperate to end Ireland’s winning streak against them, but Farrell has the energy of a man who is thoroughly engaged with the task ahead of him.
He’s excited about trying to win the Nations Championship. He’s delighted to be back on tour, part of the game he always relishes. Still a passionate rugby league man, Farrell is enjoying taking in some of the league in Australia, with the deciding leg of State of Origin to come on Wednesday. He has cleared the schedule for that evening.
Ireland have enjoyed extensive success under Farrell’s guidance. It’s one of the best-paid jobs in the game. He, his wife, and two of his children love living in Dublin.
With all of that in mind, it’s no wonder that Farrell was happy to sign a new four-year contract extension with the IRFU that will keep him in place as Ireland head coach until the end of the 2031 World Cup.
“Very straightforward,” said Farrell of the negotiations that led to him signing the new deal.
“A compliment, massively. Really proud and privileged to be asked. Absolute no-brainer for me. I’ve said that all along, delighted to get it done.
“It seems like a long time ago now, and the job doesn’t change. It gives us a little bit more certainty as far as planning and stuff like that for the future, but the guts of the job, it doesn’t change.”
Given his achievements in the game, Farrell would not be short of interest from elsewhere in the game if he had decided to look for a change after the 2027 World Cup.
But the Ireland boss suggested that there were no formal offers from elsewhere this time, simply because Farrell was so keen to stay where he is.
“There’s always chats,” he said. “If we told you everything that’s going on behind the scenes, it’d be boring in the end because it’s just another old story.
“So, there’s always chats, but it’s whether with those chats if there’s an appetite to move them on. And there was no appetite to move them on anyway, so it was very easy.”
Farrell joked that his son, Gabriel, who plays rugby in Blackrock College, has got his way in chasing a playing career of his own with Ireland.
“If you asked him that three years ago, never mind if we get to the end of this contract, that would be a shoo-in, I would have thought,” said Farrell with a smile.
But the 51-year-old stressed that family was the most important consideration in deciding on his future.
“That was the only thing,” said Farrell. “When I got asked, I just said, ‘Can I have a week to just talk to family at home?’
“I’ve got a daughter over there living in England, and obviously Owen, his three kids and all that, and two living in Dublin. So, I had to have the right chats with them, and it was clear and obvious. So, off we go.”
Farrell’s next challenge is trying to beat the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday and make a strong start to the inaugural Nations Championship. He wants to win this competition at the end of the second window in November.
The World Cup next year looms already as the biggest target for Farrell’s Ireland.
Yet penning such a long-term contract suggests that the head coach is confident about his players continuing to perform at the highest level for years to come, as well as about younger players pushing through to compete.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter whether I do or I don’t because the squad changes the whole time, all the time, anyway,” said Farrell when asked if that’s his belief.
“You don’t know how a newish squad coming together is going to gel or whatever, but that’s the exciting part for me. The exciting part is the challenge of rebuilding a little bit and going again and trying to make people into a better team-mate than they thought they was going to be originally themselves.
“So, to get people to dream big and aspire to be something that they never dreamed of themselves is part of the whole process. I see that continuing in the future.”
Some long-serving head coaches in the past, including Farrell’s predecessor Joe Schmidt, have spoken about their concern that their messages might stop landing as strongly with players if they continued in the role too long.
Farrell’s new contract puts him on track for a 12-year tenure as head coach, but he has no worries in this regard.
“I wouldn’t have took it in the first place if I didn’t believe in myself to be able to.
“No. I see me just being myself and continuing to make sure that I keep on improving as a coach. That’s it. If I’m doing that, we’ll be in a decent spot.”
Farrell’s assistant coaches are contracted until the end of the 2027 World Cup, but not beyond that.
The Ireland boss underlined how highly he rates Paul O’Connell, Simon Easterby, John Fogarty, Andrew Goodman, and Johnny Sexton, but said it’s too early to make decisions about how his coaching team will look post-2027.
Some of them may want to move on, or Farrell might want to shake things up at that stage.
“Look, I think everyone knows what I think of the people that we’ve got on board, and they are top drawer,” said Farrell. “Our coaches are top drawer. In fact, we’re even better as a collective. So, everyone knows what I think of them.
“But the reality is that a couple of them have only just resigned until the World Cup anyway. So, there’s plenty of time for conversations down the line.
“Whatever’s best for the team. My job, 100% – like I keep saying about selection, and it’s with anyone within our staff or the bigger picture of the organisation that’s connected with the team – is to do the right thing by the team.
“And if we feel that that’s the case, these things will become obvious as we move on.”
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andy farrell Contract Ireland New Deal