ANDY FARRELL HAS laid it out plain and clear for his Ireland team. Even with a total of seven changes to the starting XV which lined out against Argentina last week – and two further positional changes – the expectation is to deliver another cohesive, connected performance against Jake White’s Fiji on Saturday [KO 8.10pm].
“Continuity is good, but I don’t think there’s that many changes,” said Farrell, speaking in Dublin this afternoon.
“There’s a few that we would have had to have made, but I think in this game in particular I like the look of the team. I like the look of last week’s team, but this, I wouldn’t say it’s an experimental team by any stretch of the imagination, this is a good side that should perform on Saturday.”
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
Previously, the Ireland boss has rotated his team during a Test window and watched his players deliver disjointed – or to use a favoured Farrell term, “clunky” – performances. While that has been damaging for some international careers, it hasn’t overly affected the team as a whole in Test windows where every game stood on its own.
Of course, the complexion of this November window is different, with the Nations Championship ensuring every point counts ahead of the finals weekend in London later this month.
With that in mind, it’s interesting to see Farrell continue with an experienced core to his team. The changes promise a degree of freshness, without diluting the overall quality of the selection. Keeping some continuity ahead of next Saturday’s massive clash with the Springboks would also have been a factor in the thinking.
Still, there are plenty of switches to dissect. The back three is tweaked, with Mack Hansen shifting to fullback, while Robert Balcounce continues on one wing and Tommy O’Brien comes in for his first appearance of the month.
Hansen shone at fullback last November, scoring a hat-trick against Australia. Farrell wants to see more of the same this weekend.
“Just being himself really. I think whatever position you see Mack play, he’ll just be himself. There’s not many wingers that play like Mack does.
“He always goes roaming for the ball and tries to make a difference no matter what position he plays and we’ve certainly seen him do that for us as well at fullback.”
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Jamie Osborne was a late addition to last week’s matchday 23, replacing Bundee Aki on the Ireland bench after the Connacht man had to pull out due to illness. This week, the two start together in the Ireland midfield. For Aki, it marks a first Test start in almost a year.
“It’s good to have him back, he’s great around the place, he’s in good nick, he’s really zoned in this pre-season to come out fighting at the start of the season.
Jamie Osborne comes into the side at outside centre. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
“He seems in great shape, in great spirits, although he was pretty sick last week and we didn’t see him for 48 hours, he was locked in a room. But he’s back and healthy and looking forward to the game.”
Many would have liked to see Osborne start at 13 against Argentina, but Robbie Henshaw got the vote and delivered an excellent performance in an impressive win. Now Osborne has the chance to stake his claim.
“He’s played there before for us and done very well, whether it be 12, 13 or fullback or wing, he’s a great option for us across the backline. We’re keen to see him go hard, I thought Robbie played pretty well last week, so Jamie gets the chance next week.”
Sam Prendergast continues at out-half, with Jamison Gibson-Park replacing Craig Casey at nine. While Ciarán Frawley would have loved a rare start at 10, it makes sense for Farrell to give his first-choice half-backs some gametime together ahead of the Springboks showdown.
Rónan Kelleher joins the front row, where Farrell is happy to send out both Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong for the second week running. The Ireland boss confirmed Dan Sheehan has been training this week, and “seems A1″ as he completes a 12-day return to play protocol.
Rónan Kelleher replaces Dan Sheehan at hooker. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
In the second row, Joe McCarthy is afforded a week’s rest as James Ryan comes in to partner Tadhg Beirne. The Munster man captains Ireland for the second time, with this to be his first time leading the team out on home soil.
The back row sees Nick Timoney move to number eight following a powerful outing in the seven jersey against the Pumas. Ryan Baird continues as blindside flanker, with Josh van der Flier starting at openside.
With Sean Jansen now ruled out of the campaign, joining Caelan Doris and Jack Conan on the sidelines, Timoney has a chance to make the jersey for the South Africa game.
“Well, I think you saw Nick’s performance last week at seven and Josh also saw that and respects that so you’re seeing some good composition there.
“And then you’re seeing Ryan Baird, his performance in certain areas of the game was pretty good last week. He’s not played international rugby for a long time now so for him to get a second hit out is going to be good for all three to gel together.”
And there’s plenty of intrigue on the Ireland bench. Tom Stewart, Tom O’Toole and Sam Illo provide the front row cover, while Ulster’s James McNabney is in line to win his first cap.
Farrell was speaking to the media in Dublin today. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
“I think it’s a brilliant story because it’s not a conventional way of coming through, from a rugby point of view, riding horses and farming until he was 16 and making a choice there,” Farrell said of McNabney.
“Obviously, for the size of him you would have worried for the horses at that stage, wouldn’t you?
“But from a school that’s not a traditional rugby school, I think it’s a phenomenal story for him to come through the U20s and do what he’s done at Ulster, and here he is, deserving his first cap opportunity on Saturday.”
It will be a special day for McNabney, but like everyone else wearing green on Saturday, the expectation will be to rise to the occasion.
“We want to see us to make sure that we keep our full concentration to the standards that we want to hold ourselves to for the full 80, 85, 90 minutes sometimes,” Farrell added.
“If we do that we’ll obviously try to stay ahead of the game.
“There’s always an opportunity whenever you get to put the green shirt on, so to back up a really good performance from last week and show some consistency in the green shirt is pretty important.”
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'I wouldn't say it's an experimental team' - Farrell expects rejigged Ireland side to deliver
ANDY FARRELL HAS laid it out plain and clear for his Ireland team. Even with a total of seven changes to the starting XV which lined out against Argentina last week – and two further positional changes – the expectation is to deliver another cohesive, connected performance against Jake White’s Fiji on Saturday [KO 8.10pm].
“Continuity is good, but I don’t think there’s that many changes,” said Farrell, speaking in Dublin this afternoon.
“There’s a few that we would have had to have made, but I think in this game in particular I like the look of the team. I like the look of last week’s team, but this, I wouldn’t say it’s an experimental team by any stretch of the imagination, this is a good side that should perform on Saturday.”
Previously, the Ireland boss has rotated his team during a Test window and watched his players deliver disjointed – or to use a favoured Farrell term, “clunky” – performances. While that has been damaging for some international careers, it hasn’t overly affected the team as a whole in Test windows where every game stood on its own.
Of course, the complexion of this November window is different, with the Nations Championship ensuring every point counts ahead of the finals weekend in London later this month.
With that in mind, it’s interesting to see Farrell continue with an experienced core to his team. The changes promise a degree of freshness, without diluting the overall quality of the selection. Keeping some continuity ahead of next Saturday’s massive clash with the Springboks would also have been a factor in the thinking.
Still, there are plenty of switches to dissect. The back three is tweaked, with Mack Hansen shifting to fullback, while Robert Balcounce continues on one wing and Tommy O’Brien comes in for his first appearance of the month.
Hansen shone at fullback last November, scoring a hat-trick against Australia. Farrell wants to see more of the same this weekend.
“He always goes roaming for the ball and tries to make a difference no matter what position he plays and we’ve certainly seen him do that for us as well at fullback.”
Jamie Osborne was a late addition to last week’s matchday 23, replacing Bundee Aki on the Ireland bench after the Connacht man had to pull out due to illness. This week, the two start together in the Ireland midfield. For Aki, it marks a first Test start in almost a year.
“It’s good to have him back, he’s great around the place, he’s in good nick, he’s really zoned in this pre-season to come out fighting at the start of the season.
“He seems in great shape, in great spirits, although he was pretty sick last week and we didn’t see him for 48 hours, he was locked in a room. But he’s back and healthy and looking forward to the game.”
Many would have liked to see Osborne start at 13 against Argentina, but Robbie Henshaw got the vote and delivered an excellent performance in an impressive win. Now Osborne has the chance to stake his claim.
“He’s played there before for us and done very well, whether it be 12, 13 or fullback or wing, he’s a great option for us across the backline. We’re keen to see him go hard, I thought Robbie played pretty well last week, so Jamie gets the chance next week.”
Sam Prendergast continues at out-half, with Jamison Gibson-Park replacing Craig Casey at nine. While Ciarán Frawley would have loved a rare start at 10, it makes sense for Farrell to give his first-choice half-backs some gametime together ahead of the Springboks showdown.
Rónan Kelleher joins the front row, where Farrell is happy to send out both Andrew Porter and Tadhg Furlong for the second week running. The Ireland boss confirmed Dan Sheehan has been training this week, and “seems A1″ as he completes a 12-day return to play protocol.
In the second row, Joe McCarthy is afforded a week’s rest as James Ryan comes in to partner Tadhg Beirne. The Munster man captains Ireland for the second time, with this to be his first time leading the team out on home soil.
The back row sees Nick Timoney move to number eight following a powerful outing in the seven jersey against the Pumas. Ryan Baird continues as blindside flanker, with Josh van der Flier starting at openside.
With Sean Jansen now ruled out of the campaign, joining Caelan Doris and Jack Conan on the sidelines, Timoney has a chance to make the jersey for the South Africa game.
“Well, I think you saw Nick’s performance last week at seven and Josh also saw that and respects that so you’re seeing some good composition there.
“And then you’re seeing Ryan Baird, his performance in certain areas of the game was pretty good last week. He’s not played international rugby for a long time now so for him to get a second hit out is going to be good for all three to gel together.”
And there’s plenty of intrigue on the Ireland bench. Tom Stewart, Tom O’Toole and Sam Illo provide the front row cover, while Ulster’s James McNabney is in line to win his first cap.
“I think it’s a brilliant story because it’s not a conventional way of coming through, from a rugby point of view, riding horses and farming until he was 16 and making a choice there,” Farrell said of McNabney.
“Obviously, for the size of him you would have worried for the horses at that stage, wouldn’t you?
“But from a school that’s not a traditional rugby school, I think it’s a phenomenal story for him to come through the U20s and do what he’s done at Ulster, and here he is, deserving his first cap opportunity on Saturday.”
It will be a special day for McNabney, but like everyone else wearing green on Saturday, the expectation will be to rise to the occasion.
“We want to see us to make sure that we keep our full concentration to the standards that we want to hold ourselves to for the full 80, 85, 90 minutes sometimes,” Farrell added.
“If we do that we’ll obviously try to stay ahead of the game.
“There’s always an opportunity whenever you get to put the green shirt on, so to back up a really good performance from last week and show some consistency in the green shirt is pretty important.”
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