YOU’D HAVE TO say that Andy Farrell is in a good spot for negotiating a salary bump.
The Ireland boss is due to sit down with the IRFU imminently to discuss the prospect of extending his contract beyond the 2027 World Cup, and there is no doubt that the union are keen on him staying.
Farrell hasn’t quite committed to saying publicly that he wants to keep going with Ireland after next year’s World Cup, but he has always said how much he enjoys the job and life in Ireland.
“You know that I love this,” said Farrell on Saturday evening after Ireland had wrapped up the Triple Crown with their six-try win over Scotland.
“You know that I love this. There’s all sorts of stuff that needs to be talked about, I’ve no doubt.
“I will have a conversation. We’ve already spoken about having a conversation. That won’t be too far away. So, we’ll see how that goes.”
If Farrell is on the fence, then days like Saturday in Dublin will surely be a big reason for continuing.
The atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium has taken plenty of criticism in the last few years but the Irish crowd was noisy and energetic as Farrell’s men beat Scotland.
“Well, nobody wants to give those away,” said Farrell. “I’d like to watch it, though, sometimes. Walking down from the Shelbourne and doing a bit of a pub crawl, it sounds nice to me but they’re special days and it’s through the lads and the staff.
“I mean, the staff that we’ve got is second to none. Great people. Great at their jobs. As a coaching staff, I think we’re getting better. We’re learning about each other more. We’re getting more cohesive and getting better as well. It’s not just the players.”
So, whatever about post-RWC2027, Farrell believes Ireland are on the right track for that tournament.
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His goal is to win the World Cup with Ireland. That’s this team’s mission. In fact, they even spoke about the next 18 months last week, despite having such a big game against Scotland ahead of them.
“I suppose the story is that you’ve got to try and understand what it is that we’re trying to get to and what it is that we’re trying to achieve,” said Farrell.
“If you look at it like that, there’s five more chances to do that, so they come pretty quick and fast as far as that’s concerned.”
Paris at the start of this Six Nations was a low point for Ireland and they will carry the lesson from that day – their lack of “intent,” as Farrell put it – with them, but this championship has been a big success overall.
First and foremost, because they won silverware once again. Farrell has led Ireland to a Triple Crown in 2022, a Grand Slam in 2023, a Six Nations title in 2024, a Triple Crown in 2025, and now another Triple Crown.
“We put the pressure on ourselves,” he said. “That’s something internally that we were chasing down as well. That’s five trophies in five years. I think it’s the great side of the ’70s from the Welsh point of view, who’s done that last and what a special side that was.
“It’s something that we’re trying to make sure that we’re continuing to do, put pressure on ourselves and deliver when it matters to us. That was why we were able to put that type of performance in.
“Remember, we’ve been to these days before, the last day, and not really performed at our best, even if we had won. So that’s a step in the right direction.”
Farrell was referring to Ireland’s performance against England when they sealed the 2023 Grand Slam and their showing against Scotland when they claimed the 2024 Six Nations. They were nervy, error-strewn displays and though Ireland got over the line, Farrell wasn’t happy with how they played. On Saturday against Scotland, they finished with a bang.
And all of this despite missing front-line players like Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Andrew Porter, and Ryan Baird for this Six Nations, while James Lowe and James Ryan were absent on Saturday against Scotland.
Farrell and Ireland didn’t seem overly bothered by who was missing for this Six Nations. He used 35 players in this campaign, a new record for his time in charge of Ireland.
Farrell with Aled Walters, Ireland's head of athletic performance. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Nick Timoney, Cian Prendergast, Michael Milne, Tommy O’Brien, Cormac Izuchukwu, Rob Baloucoune, Tom Stewart, Tom Farrell, and Darragh Murray got their Six Nations debuts in this championship. They all did well. Some of them were outstanding.
Tom O’Toole got his first-ever Six Nations start. He was a revelation at loosehead prop.
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Ireland denied the title but Farrell's men finish with complete display
There were full Test debuts for Edwin Edogbo and Nathan Doak, both of whom look like having bright futures as part of this Ireland set-up.
Farrell found all of this hugely encouraging.
“It 100% is,” he said. “You look at the bench coming on [against Scotland]. I thought Nick Timoney was… what a tournament. He was immense for the 25 minutes when he came on. So that’s a lovely story.
“The confidence for Mikey and Darragh and people like that, for them to be trusted to perform, it shows that they believe that it’s their team, so they need to keep showing that week on week.
“We have chats all week with the lads who are not playing and how they’re going to use this experience and stuff like that. So we’re hoping for some more to come into that talking point as well.”
Next on the agenda for Farrell is the start of the inaugural Nations Championship in July.
Ireland will play the Wallabies and Japan in Australia before they head to New Zealand to challenge the All Blacks at Eden Park. You just know that Farrell will be building everything around pushing for Ireland’s first-ever win at the famous Auckland stadium.
So he’ll be watching closely as the players involved in this Six Nations go back to their provinces, while some of those who missed out return from injury, eager to force their way firmly back into Farrell’s plans.
“We’ll see what the momentum is with the lads going back to their provinces now,” he said.
“We’ve talked about it in the changing rooms. People have had to grow for this competition.
“The lads who’ve had a sniff of it, who’ve not necessarily played today, it’s up to them to keep on competing as well, to show us that they’ve learned some lessons and everyone is fighting for a seat on the plane.”
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'I love this' - Farrell in a strong position for contract talks with IRFU
YOU’D HAVE TO say that Andy Farrell is in a good spot for negotiating a salary bump.
The Ireland boss is due to sit down with the IRFU imminently to discuss the prospect of extending his contract beyond the 2027 World Cup, and there is no doubt that the union are keen on him staying.
Farrell hasn’t quite committed to saying publicly that he wants to keep going with Ireland after next year’s World Cup, but he has always said how much he enjoys the job and life in Ireland.
“You know that I love this,” said Farrell on Saturday evening after Ireland had wrapped up the Triple Crown with their six-try win over Scotland.
“You know that I love this. There’s all sorts of stuff that needs to be talked about, I’ve no doubt.
“I will have a conversation. We’ve already spoken about having a conversation. That won’t be too far away. So, we’ll see how that goes.”
If Farrell is on the fence, then days like Saturday in Dublin will surely be a big reason for continuing.
The atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium has taken plenty of criticism in the last few years but the Irish crowd was noisy and energetic as Farrell’s men beat Scotland.
“Well, nobody wants to give those away,” said Farrell. “I’d like to watch it, though, sometimes. Walking down from the Shelbourne and doing a bit of a pub crawl, it sounds nice to me but they’re special days and it’s through the lads and the staff.
“I mean, the staff that we’ve got is second to none. Great people. Great at their jobs. As a coaching staff, I think we’re getting better. We’re learning about each other more. We’re getting more cohesive and getting better as well. It’s not just the players.”
So, whatever about post-RWC2027, Farrell believes Ireland are on the right track for that tournament.
His goal is to win the World Cup with Ireland. That’s this team’s mission. In fact, they even spoke about the next 18 months last week, despite having such a big game against Scotland ahead of them.
“I suppose the story is that you’ve got to try and understand what it is that we’re trying to get to and what it is that we’re trying to achieve,” said Farrell.
“If you look at it like that, there’s five more chances to do that, so they come pretty quick and fast as far as that’s concerned.”
Paris at the start of this Six Nations was a low point for Ireland and they will carry the lesson from that day – their lack of “intent,” as Farrell put it – with them, but this championship has been a big success overall.
First and foremost, because they won silverware once again. Farrell has led Ireland to a Triple Crown in 2022, a Grand Slam in 2023, a Six Nations title in 2024, a Triple Crown in 2025, and now another Triple Crown.
“We put the pressure on ourselves,” he said. “That’s something internally that we were chasing down as well. That’s five trophies in five years. I think it’s the great side of the ’70s from the Welsh point of view, who’s done that last and what a special side that was.
“It’s something that we’re trying to make sure that we’re continuing to do, put pressure on ourselves and deliver when it matters to us. That was why we were able to put that type of performance in.
“Remember, we’ve been to these days before, the last day, and not really performed at our best, even if we had won. So that’s a step in the right direction.”
Farrell was referring to Ireland’s performance against England when they sealed the 2023 Grand Slam and their showing against Scotland when they claimed the 2024 Six Nations. They were nervy, error-strewn displays and though Ireland got over the line, Farrell wasn’t happy with how they played. On Saturday against Scotland, they finished with a bang.
And all of this despite missing front-line players like Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Andrew Porter, and Ryan Baird for this Six Nations, while James Lowe and James Ryan were absent on Saturday against Scotland.
Farrell and Ireland didn’t seem overly bothered by who was missing for this Six Nations. He used 35 players in this campaign, a new record for his time in charge of Ireland.
Nick Timoney, Cian Prendergast, Michael Milne, Tommy O’Brien, Cormac Izuchukwu, Rob Baloucoune, Tom Stewart, Tom Farrell, and Darragh Murray got their Six Nations debuts in this championship. They all did well. Some of them were outstanding.
Tom O’Toole got his first-ever Six Nations start. He was a revelation at loosehead prop.
There were full Test debuts for Edwin Edogbo and Nathan Doak, both of whom look like having bright futures as part of this Ireland set-up.
Farrell found all of this hugely encouraging.
“It 100% is,” he said. “You look at the bench coming on [against Scotland]. I thought Nick Timoney was… what a tournament. He was immense for the 25 minutes when he came on. So that’s a lovely story.
“The confidence for Mikey and Darragh and people like that, for them to be trusted to perform, it shows that they believe that it’s their team, so they need to keep showing that week on week.
“We have chats all week with the lads who are not playing and how they’re going to use this experience and stuff like that. So we’re hoping for some more to come into that talking point as well.”
Next on the agenda for Farrell is the start of the inaugural Nations Championship in July.
Ireland will play the Wallabies and Japan in Australia before they head to New Zealand to challenge the All Blacks at Eden Park. You just know that Farrell will be building everything around pushing for Ireland’s first-ever win at the famous Auckland stadium.
So he’ll be watching closely as the players involved in this Six Nations go back to their provinces, while some of those who missed out return from injury, eager to force their way firmly back into Farrell’s plans.
“We’ll see what the momentum is with the lads going back to their provinces now,” he said.
“We’ve talked about it in the changing rooms. People have had to grow for this competition.
“The lads who’ve had a sniff of it, who’ve not necessarily played today, it’s up to them to keep on competing as well, to show us that they’ve learned some lessons and everyone is fighting for a seat on the plane.”
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