ANDY FARRELL IS ready to turn the page with Ireland.
The Lions tour is behind him and he’s happy to have his feet back under the desk in his day job.
“Beautiful,” is how he described being able to give Ireland his undivided attention.
“In Chicago. Look at me, living the dream.”
He hopes Ireland fans will feel the same way on Saturday evening.
Facing New Zealand at Soldier Field is the start of a big autumn window for Ireland, with home games against Japan, Australia, and South Africa to come. It looks like a difficult run of matches, but it’s exactly what Farrell wanted.
When his Ireland squad assembled in Dublin at the beginning of this camp, Farrell spoke to them about the 2027 World Cup. Now, they’re about to start the build-up in earnest.
“We’ll see campaign-to-campaign who has the ambition to be at their best when the World Cup comes around,” said Farrell.
“I reckon this autumn is a big window for us to see where we’re at, not just as a team but as individuals, etc. and then the Six Nations is always the Six Nations. It’s a competition that is our bread and butter.
“This window, again, is a brilliant challenge with the teams that we’re playing to see where we’re at.”
Farrell agrees with everyone who is saying Ireland need to find to evolve in this window and over the next two years leading into the World Cup.
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“There’s always a reassessment of all parts of our game and where we’re at,” he said.
Farrell says there are no excuses for players who are short of game time. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“We’ve certainly done that and it’s up to us to make sure that we keep kicking on because staying where we are isn’t going to be good enough going forward.
“And I’m including myself and all the coaching staff and all the backroom staff – it’s up to us all to keep getting better, to keep improving, to keep challenging one another, to reassess where our standards lie and how we need to kick on with that because every team is going to progress over the next couple of years and we need to be at the forefront of that.”
He doesn’t agree with those who think Ireland should simply move on from some of their most experienced players, many of whom are in their 30s.
Farrell looks at teams like England in 2003, New Zealand in 2015, and South Africa at the last two World Cups as evidence that experience is crucial.
“But it’s not the be-all and end-all, it’s just what’s right at that moment in time,” he said.
“There’s a long way to go obviously between now and then, and there’s people who will continue to grow and people who will fall away by the wayside. That’s just how it is.
“We’ve not got thousands of players, but we always bat above our average because we’re competitive; it matters to us. There’s always going to be a position where you think, ‘Where’s the next one coming from in that area?’ but we tend to find it.
“We know where our depth chart is and where it should be. It’s up to everyone concerned to make sure they come to the party and make sure they’re ready for what it takes to be an international rugby player. And if that doesn’t happen, then it’s dangerous to put people in who are not ready.”
Right now, there are fears among some Irish supporters and media that too many of Farrell’s team for tomorrow’s clash in Chicago just don’t have enough rugby under their belts.
Starting number eight Jack Conan and replacement back row Caelan Doris haven’t played a single minute yet this season, while others in the Ireland side have only one or two appearances under their belt.
Despite the usual narrative being that the Southern Hemisphere teams are getting tired at this stage of the year after the run of Super Rugby, July Tests, and the Rugby Championship, the concern this time is that the All Blacks will be too battle-hardened for Ireland.
Yet, many of Farrell’s team were playing key roles for the Lions only a few months ago, the kind of experience he wants them to tap into.
“They’ve got to use their experience to have no excuses,” he said. “They’re in that type of position because they are good at dealing with that type of thing.
Ireland training in Chicago this week. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“That’s what top players do. So, here they are at the start of the season. Some of them have played no games, some of them have played half a game, one, two, three games, etc. It’s irrelevant.
“They’re mentally prepared to give the best of themselves.
“When they turn up for camp, realise what they’re representing and what the shirt means, it seems to focus the mind a lot more.
“But you’ve still have to go out and prove it.”
Sharpening the focus for Ireland is the fact that they were poor the last time they played the All Blacks a year ago in Dublin, when Scott Robertson’s side won 23-13.
Farrell certainly hasn’t forgotten the disappointment of that rainy night, which was a genuine damp squib after some fascinating battles with New Zealand in recent years.
“I don’t think we came to the party that much last year, as far as the rivalry is concerned,” he said.
“So we’ve got to be better than what we were last year and come to the party a little bit more to keep that rivalry going.”
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'Staying where we are isn’t going to be good enough' - Farrell
ANDY FARRELL IS ready to turn the page with Ireland.
The Lions tour is behind him and he’s happy to have his feet back under the desk in his day job.
“Beautiful,” is how he described being able to give Ireland his undivided attention.
“In Chicago. Look at me, living the dream.”
He hopes Ireland fans will feel the same way on Saturday evening.
Facing New Zealand at Soldier Field is the start of a big autumn window for Ireland, with home games against Japan, Australia, and South Africa to come. It looks like a difficult run of matches, but it’s exactly what Farrell wanted.
When his Ireland squad assembled in Dublin at the beginning of this camp, Farrell spoke to them about the 2027 World Cup. Now, they’re about to start the build-up in earnest.
“We’ll see campaign-to-campaign who has the ambition to be at their best when the World Cup comes around,” said Farrell.
“I reckon this autumn is a big window for us to see where we’re at, not just as a team but as individuals, etc. and then the Six Nations is always the Six Nations. It’s a competition that is our bread and butter.
“This window, again, is a brilliant challenge with the teams that we’re playing to see where we’re at.”
Farrell agrees with everyone who is saying Ireland need to find to evolve in this window and over the next two years leading into the World Cup.
“There’s always a reassessment of all parts of our game and where we’re at,” he said.
“We’ve certainly done that and it’s up to us to make sure that we keep kicking on because staying where we are isn’t going to be good enough going forward.
“And I’m including myself and all the coaching staff and all the backroom staff – it’s up to us all to keep getting better, to keep improving, to keep challenging one another, to reassess where our standards lie and how we need to kick on with that because every team is going to progress over the next couple of years and we need to be at the forefront of that.”
He doesn’t agree with those who think Ireland should simply move on from some of their most experienced players, many of whom are in their 30s.
Farrell looks at teams like England in 2003, New Zealand in 2015, and South Africa at the last two World Cups as evidence that experience is crucial.
“But it’s not the be-all and end-all, it’s just what’s right at that moment in time,” he said.
“There’s a long way to go obviously between now and then, and there’s people who will continue to grow and people who will fall away by the wayside. That’s just how it is.
“We’ve not got thousands of players, but we always bat above our average because we’re competitive; it matters to us. There’s always going to be a position where you think, ‘Where’s the next one coming from in that area?’ but we tend to find it.
“We know where our depth chart is and where it should be. It’s up to everyone concerned to make sure they come to the party and make sure they’re ready for what it takes to be an international rugby player. And if that doesn’t happen, then it’s dangerous to put people in who are not ready.”
Right now, there are fears among some Irish supporters and media that too many of Farrell’s team for tomorrow’s clash in Chicago just don’t have enough rugby under their belts.
Starting number eight Jack Conan and replacement back row Caelan Doris haven’t played a single minute yet this season, while others in the Ireland side have only one or two appearances under their belt.
Despite the usual narrative being that the Southern Hemisphere teams are getting tired at this stage of the year after the run of Super Rugby, July Tests, and the Rugby Championship, the concern this time is that the All Blacks will be too battle-hardened for Ireland.
Yet, many of Farrell’s team were playing key roles for the Lions only a few months ago, the kind of experience he wants them to tap into.
“They’ve got to use their experience to have no excuses,” he said. “They’re in that type of position because they are good at dealing with that type of thing.
“That’s what top players do. So, here they are at the start of the season. Some of them have played no games, some of them have played half a game, one, two, three games, etc. It’s irrelevant.
“They’re mentally prepared to give the best of themselves.
“When they turn up for camp, realise what they’re representing and what the shirt means, it seems to focus the mind a lot more.
“But you’ve still have to go out and prove it.”
Sharpening the focus for Ireland is the fact that they were poor the last time they played the All Blacks a year ago in Dublin, when Scott Robertson’s side won 23-13.
Farrell certainly hasn’t forgotten the disappointment of that rainy night, which was a genuine damp squib after some fascinating battles with New Zealand in recent years.
“I don’t think we came to the party that much last year, as far as the rivalry is concerned,” he said.
“So we’ve got to be better than what we were last year and come to the party a little bit more to keep that rivalry going.”
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