ANDY FARRELL IS well aware that Ireland are up against it. You could see it in his body language and parse it from his words yesterday at their team hotel in the La Défense area of Paris.
But while he’s well aware of it, Farrell views these things a little differently. Some Irish supporters will worry that their team are in for a very difficult night tomorrow at Stade de France, but the Ireland head coach tends to get excited by these challenges.
Perhaps the extensive injury list has led to just a hint too much adversity this time around, yet Farrell is looking forward to seeing how a different-looking Ireland team goes against the reigning champions.
“Of course, it feels different,” said Farrell of this Ireland team, which is missing lots of familiar faces from recent years.
“But it’s great to see players who are able to get over themselves and just give themselves to the environment. That’s what we’re after.
“It’s also good to see senior players, more experienced players, coming down a little bit to take people with them to a place that we’re trying to get to as a group. So, all those dynamics change, but the change is pretty good as well.”
The loss of some key players, as well as Ireland’s mixed form over the past year or so, means they come into this Six Nations without any major outside expectation pressing on them.
Ireland themselves will be aiming to win the trophy, of course, but they have shifted from being top dogs defending their title to being the ones looking to pull France down from their perch.
Farrell himself said he hasn’t considered things this way, but he’s realistic about where his squad is coming into this Six Nations.
Advertisement
“As far as the journey of any type of squad, there’s always different reasons why things are happening, with injuries or form or retirement or whatever,” he said.
“We’re at where we’re at, and for me that’s exciting.
“That’s what you need to grab hold of and run with and see what we can do, not just in the near future, but how this type of experience will stand to us. Hopefully this experience will stand to us in the here and now as well. That’s the aim.”
France beat Ireland well last year. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The chat in France this week is that Ireland are a faded force. Farrell’s side aren’t even getting much of a mention in some of the French media. The expectation is that Fabien Galthié’s side will do something similar to what they did in Dublin last year.
And back home in Ireland, many people see this team selection as being weak, the kind of side that could be in for a miserable night at the hands of the French.
You suspect that Farrell will welcome anyone having a potshot at Ireland’s chances. It’s been a while since he has been able to play the underdog card, to frame his team as having been written off, but this game presents him with the opportunity.
He’ll be hoping that his Irish team can apply enough pressure to challenge the French mentality and see how they handle it. Without previously key leaders Gaël Fickou and Grégory Alldritt, their two captains in November, this is an interesting dimension.
Antoine Dupont is back to captain the side, but leaving Fickout and Alldritt out of the Six Nations squad, along with the prolific Damian Penaud, is still a big call from Galthié.
“I’m not privy to everything that goes on behind the scenes,” said Farrell on that front.
“But just shows the strength of the French and the amount of class players they’ve got that they can leave those kinds of guys out.”
As usual, Farrell has spent more time thinking about what his players can do.
He’s keen to see 22-year-old Sam Prendergast leading the team with confidence from out-half.
“I think the skillset suits us for this game,” said Farrell of the decision to back Prendergast, with Jack Crowley in reserve.
“Obviously, we’ve gone with a 6/2 bench. I think Jack’s going to be a steady influence. He can come on in many different positions, and they both get on and can play together. I don’t know, we’ll see how that goes.
“But yeah, I think Sam’s skillset that will suit us well.”
Sam Prendergast continues as Farrell's starting out-half. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
And he’s looking forward to watching Jeremy Loughman and Thomas Clarkson step up as the starting props on such a big stage.
“Set-piece, first, is huge,” said Farrell of what he wants from them.
“You look at Tom Clarkson, he’s been in and around the group now for a couple of years and everyone would say France away is a big test for any young prop, but you can see him finding his feet at this level, taking control of stuff, you can see the confidence that he’s building.
“He’s being more of his aggressive self, etc. So, that’s certainly going to make him a better player for us on Thursday night and in the future.
“Jez has all the attributes to be a fantastic loosehead at this level and he’s been fighting hard to get back into this squad, and here’s his chance. He is that type of player, isn’t he? Set-piece first, and he’s been pretty impressive in training this week, so we’re looking forward to seeing those two lads go for it.”
Related Reads
Six rising stars who could light up this year's Six Nations
The view from France: Ireland aren't quite the powerhouse they used to be
Philippe Saint-Andre: Why Ireland could be in for a long night against France
That’s the mentality Farrell wants from everyone – to attack this game.
The build-up has been dominated by Irish hopes that their team can just survive, but Farrell is asking his players to think differently. He wants them to prove the doubters wrong.
“It’s being fearless, isn’t it?” said Farrell.
“It’s making sure that we’re not playing any occasion here. It’s making sure that we’re present in everything we do, and executing the plan that we’re all buying into.
“There’ll be ups and downs, I’m sure of that against a world-class side at home.
“But it’s an exciting game for us going forward, because we’ll certainly learn a lot about ourselves, testing ourselves in big occasions like this, so that’ll stand to us.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Andy Farrell will be happy for people to write off this Ireland team
ANDY FARRELL IS well aware that Ireland are up against it. You could see it in his body language and parse it from his words yesterday at their team hotel in the La Défense area of Paris.
But while he’s well aware of it, Farrell views these things a little differently. Some Irish supporters will worry that their team are in for a very difficult night tomorrow at Stade de France, but the Ireland head coach tends to get excited by these challenges.
Perhaps the extensive injury list has led to just a hint too much adversity this time around, yet Farrell is looking forward to seeing how a different-looking Ireland team goes against the reigning champions.
“Of course, it feels different,” said Farrell of this Ireland team, which is missing lots of familiar faces from recent years.
“But it’s great to see players who are able to get over themselves and just give themselves to the environment. That’s what we’re after.
“It’s also good to see senior players, more experienced players, coming down a little bit to take people with them to a place that we’re trying to get to as a group. So, all those dynamics change, but the change is pretty good as well.”
The loss of some key players, as well as Ireland’s mixed form over the past year or so, means they come into this Six Nations without any major outside expectation pressing on them.
Ireland themselves will be aiming to win the trophy, of course, but they have shifted from being top dogs defending their title to being the ones looking to pull France down from their perch.
Farrell himself said he hasn’t considered things this way, but he’s realistic about where his squad is coming into this Six Nations.
“As far as the journey of any type of squad, there’s always different reasons why things are happening, with injuries or form or retirement or whatever,” he said.
“We’re at where we’re at, and for me that’s exciting.
“That’s what you need to grab hold of and run with and see what we can do, not just in the near future, but how this type of experience will stand to us. Hopefully this experience will stand to us in the here and now as well. That’s the aim.”
The chat in France this week is that Ireland are a faded force. Farrell’s side aren’t even getting much of a mention in some of the French media. The expectation is that Fabien Galthié’s side will do something similar to what they did in Dublin last year.
And back home in Ireland, many people see this team selection as being weak, the kind of side that could be in for a miserable night at the hands of the French.
You suspect that Farrell will welcome anyone having a potshot at Ireland’s chances. It’s been a while since he has been able to play the underdog card, to frame his team as having been written off, but this game presents him with the opportunity.
He’ll be hoping that his Irish team can apply enough pressure to challenge the French mentality and see how they handle it. Without previously key leaders Gaël Fickou and Grégory Alldritt, their two captains in November, this is an interesting dimension.
Antoine Dupont is back to captain the side, but leaving Fickout and Alldritt out of the Six Nations squad, along with the prolific Damian Penaud, is still a big call from Galthié.
“I’m not privy to everything that goes on behind the scenes,” said Farrell on that front.
“But just shows the strength of the French and the amount of class players they’ve got that they can leave those kinds of guys out.”
As usual, Farrell has spent more time thinking about what his players can do.
He’s keen to see 22-year-old Sam Prendergast leading the team with confidence from out-half.
“I think the skillset suits us for this game,” said Farrell of the decision to back Prendergast, with Jack Crowley in reserve.
“Obviously, we’ve gone with a 6/2 bench. I think Jack’s going to be a steady influence. He can come on in many different positions, and they both get on and can play together. I don’t know, we’ll see how that goes.
“But yeah, I think Sam’s skillset that will suit us well.”
And he’s looking forward to watching Jeremy Loughman and Thomas Clarkson step up as the starting props on such a big stage.
“Set-piece, first, is huge,” said Farrell of what he wants from them.
“You look at Tom Clarkson, he’s been in and around the group now for a couple of years and everyone would say France away is a big test for any young prop, but you can see him finding his feet at this level, taking control of stuff, you can see the confidence that he’s building.
“He’s being more of his aggressive self, etc. So, that’s certainly going to make him a better player for us on Thursday night and in the future.
“Jez has all the attributes to be a fantastic loosehead at this level and he’s been fighting hard to get back into this squad, and here’s his chance. He is that type of player, isn’t he? Set-piece first, and he’s been pretty impressive in training this week, so we’re looking forward to seeing those two lads go for it.”
That’s the mentality Farrell wants from everyone – to attack this game.
The build-up has been dominated by Irish hopes that their team can just survive, but Farrell is asking his players to think differently. He wants them to prove the doubters wrong.
“It’s being fearless, isn’t it?” said Farrell.
“It’s making sure that we’re not playing any occasion here. It’s making sure that we’re present in everything we do, and executing the plan that we’re all buying into.
“There’ll be ups and downs, I’m sure of that against a world-class side at home.
“But it’s an exciting game for us going forward, because we’ll certainly learn a lot about ourselves, testing ourselves in big occasions like this, so that’ll stand to us.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
andy farrell Attack the Game Six Nations Ireland mindset