THE MAIN PRESS conference had finished and Andy Farrell was speaking to a group of Irish rugby writers in a quiet corner of the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening when the topic of Ireland’s number 10 shirt came up.
It was an obvious line of enquiry ahead of this weekend’s Six Nations trip to Twickenham, with Farrell having already praised Jack Crowley’s impact off the bench in the win over Italy.
But Farrell didn’t want to talk about how he will make the decision at out-half this week.
Instead, he wanted to make it clear that the abuse and criticism of Sam Prendergast and Crowley simply has to end. Farrell was visibly angered as he slammed the “keyboard warriors” who have been trying to drag the Irish out-halves down online.
“Do you know what, I might be talking out of school here, but in my opinion for what’s gone on over the last year or so, especially with the keyboard warriors, I think people need to ask themselves sometimes, ‘Are we Irish?’ ‘Do we want people to do well or not?’” said Farrell.
“Because it can be tough for these kids, you know? It can be tough for these kids. I’ve seen it, to-ing and fro-ing with both of them, and both of them are strong characters.
“It takes a lot to break kids like that. But I’ve seen it affect people, you know? So the keyboard warriors on Twitter, or whatever you call it now, need to cop on and try and help these kids.”
The sad reality is that this isn’t just online anymore. It was saddening to hear reports from fans in attendance at the Aviva of relentless criticism and even mocking of Prendergast from a small number of fellow home supporters in the stands.
There surely hasn’t been a player as young as Prendergast, who turned 23 on Thursday, who has attracted as much flak as he has.
Yet Farrell took issue with the suggestion that the roar from the home fans when he sent Crowley on for Prendergast with 25 minutes left on Saturday would have been hard to take for the latter.
“No, I don’t believe that, no,” said Farrell. “You’re making that up, 100%. I heard the cheer for Jack. That’s for Jack.
“Jack’s a good lad, you know? He’s a good player. And Munster supporters and Irish supporters are allowed to cheer that. We don’t need to make it out to be something it’s not.”
Nor did Farrell see anything wrong with some supporters reacting with frustration to Prendergast’s two conversion misses.
“I’ve missed worse than that, and I’ve had worse groans than that, believe me,” said Farrell. “Everyone is allowed to do that.”
Farrell was asked if he believes the Irish media have spent too much time discussing Ireland’s number 10 shirt, but he said that wasn’t the case.
“No, it’s the keyboard warriors. It’s damaging, you know? And the more we report on the keyboard warriors, we’re giving them… you know, everyone grows a leg, and then it’s, ‘Let’s do a bit more of it.’”
There are some supporters who believe that Farrell promoted Prendergast into Ireland’s starting XV too early in his career.
It has been suggested that the Kildare man would have been better served by building more experience with Leinster before being thrust into the white-hot pressure of Test rugby.
Crowley and Prendergast last November. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
But Farrell rejected the notion that the pressure and scrutiny on Prendergast might mean the Ireland boss has regrets about backing him so early.
“No, I’ve no problem at all,” said Farrell.
“He was playing outstanding rugby and he will continue to do that.”
Prendergast did lots of good things for Ireland again on Saturday, as he always does, but there were also moments he’d like to get back.
Farrell didn’t sugarcoat the out-half’s performance.
“He’d be frustrated with bits,” said the Ireland boss. “These things will stand to them. As in, that’s the journey. That’s the career. Down the line, these two lads and others, they will be the players that they want to be. Everyone goes through these types of scenarios.”
Farrell was glowing with his praise for Crowley post-match, which those in regular attendance at his press conferences know has been a rare enough thing in the last couple of seasons.
The Ireland head coach said Crowley, who turned 26 last month, played “outstandingly well” off the bench against Italy, highlighting his control of the attack for Robert Baloucoune’s excellent try, as well as playing down the Munster man’s error in missing a kick to touch at the death.
“Jack did pretty well, didn’t he?” said Farrell. “He’s gutted about the kick into the corner, obviously, but he did a lot more than that for us.
“He did a lot more good for us than harm and he can be proud of his performance today.
“I’ve no doubt Jack felt there was nothing to lose. Jack Conan came on last week [against France] and played really well off the bench, so did James Ryan, etc. It’s a little bit easier in that regard but he still did it, Jack, so fair play to him.”
Farrell just hopes that whatever comes next in terms of selection, Irish supporters will fully get behind the player who is on the pitch.
“They’re young lads and good lads as well. We need to back them.”
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'The keyboard warriors need to cop on and help these kids' - Farrell
THE MAIN PRESS conference had finished and Andy Farrell was speaking to a group of Irish rugby writers in a quiet corner of the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening when the topic of Ireland’s number 10 shirt came up.
It was an obvious line of enquiry ahead of this weekend’s Six Nations trip to Twickenham, with Farrell having already praised Jack Crowley’s impact off the bench in the win over Italy.
But Farrell didn’t want to talk about how he will make the decision at out-half this week.
Instead, he wanted to make it clear that the abuse and criticism of Sam Prendergast and Crowley simply has to end. Farrell was visibly angered as he slammed the “keyboard warriors” who have been trying to drag the Irish out-halves down online.
“Do you know what, I might be talking out of school here, but in my opinion for what’s gone on over the last year or so, especially with the keyboard warriors, I think people need to ask themselves sometimes, ‘Are we Irish?’ ‘Do we want people to do well or not?’” said Farrell.
“Because it can be tough for these kids, you know? It can be tough for these kids. I’ve seen it, to-ing and fro-ing with both of them, and both of them are strong characters.
“It takes a lot to break kids like that. But I’ve seen it affect people, you know? So the keyboard warriors on Twitter, or whatever you call it now, need to cop on and try and help these kids.”
The sad reality is that this isn’t just online anymore. It was saddening to hear reports from fans in attendance at the Aviva of relentless criticism and even mocking of Prendergast from a small number of fellow home supporters in the stands.
There surely hasn’t been a player as young as Prendergast, who turned 23 on Thursday, who has attracted as much flak as he has.
Yet Farrell took issue with the suggestion that the roar from the home fans when he sent Crowley on for Prendergast with 25 minutes left on Saturday would have been hard to take for the latter.
“No, I don’t believe that, no,” said Farrell. “You’re making that up, 100%. I heard the cheer for Jack. That’s for Jack.
“Jack’s a good lad, you know? He’s a good player. And Munster supporters and Irish supporters are allowed to cheer that. We don’t need to make it out to be something it’s not.”
Nor did Farrell see anything wrong with some supporters reacting with frustration to Prendergast’s two conversion misses.
“I’ve missed worse than that, and I’ve had worse groans than that, believe me,” said Farrell. “Everyone is allowed to do that.”
Farrell was asked if he believes the Irish media have spent too much time discussing Ireland’s number 10 shirt, but he said that wasn’t the case.
“No, it’s the keyboard warriors. It’s damaging, you know? And the more we report on the keyboard warriors, we’re giving them… you know, everyone grows a leg, and then it’s, ‘Let’s do a bit more of it.’”
There are some supporters who believe that Farrell promoted Prendergast into Ireland’s starting XV too early in his career.
It has been suggested that the Kildare man would have been better served by building more experience with Leinster before being thrust into the white-hot pressure of Test rugby.
But Farrell rejected the notion that the pressure and scrutiny on Prendergast might mean the Ireland boss has regrets about backing him so early.
“No, I’ve no problem at all,” said Farrell.
“He was playing outstanding rugby and he will continue to do that.”
Prendergast did lots of good things for Ireland again on Saturday, as he always does, but there were also moments he’d like to get back.
Farrell didn’t sugarcoat the out-half’s performance.
“He’d be frustrated with bits,” said the Ireland boss. “These things will stand to them. As in, that’s the journey. That’s the career. Down the line, these two lads and others, they will be the players that they want to be. Everyone goes through these types of scenarios.”
Farrell was glowing with his praise for Crowley post-match, which those in regular attendance at his press conferences know has been a rare enough thing in the last couple of seasons.
The Ireland head coach said Crowley, who turned 26 last month, played “outstandingly well” off the bench against Italy, highlighting his control of the attack for Robert Baloucoune’s excellent try, as well as playing down the Munster man’s error in missing a kick to touch at the death.
“Jack did pretty well, didn’t he?” said Farrell. “He’s gutted about the kick into the corner, obviously, but he did a lot more than that for us.
“He did a lot more good for us than harm and he can be proud of his performance today.
“I’ve no doubt Jack felt there was nothing to lose. Jack Conan came on last week [against France] and played really well off the bench, so did James Ryan, etc. It’s a little bit easier in that regard but he still did it, Jack, so fair play to him.”
Farrell just hopes that whatever comes next in terms of selection, Irish supporters will fully get behind the player who is on the pitch.
“They’re young lads and good lads as well. We need to back them.”
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