OVER THE COURSE of a typically entertaining pre-match press conference at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Killiney this evening, Japan head coach Eddie Jones elaborated on some recent eye-catching remarks he made in relation to his Irish counterpart Andy Farrell.
Previously at the helm of his native Australia (in two separate tenures) and England within the international test arena, Jones was one of the key contributors to Brendan Fanning’s recently-released book ‘Touching Distance – Irish Rugby’s Battle with Great Expectations’ – which reflects on the past 20 years of the sport in Ireland.
Referencing a quote from the book ‘Quiet Leadership: Winning Hearts, Minds and Matches’ by five-time Champions League-winning manager Carlos Ancelotti that said ‘Whatever you’re good at is what you gets you the job, and you invariably get sacked for the same thing’, Jones pointed to Farrell (and his predecessor Joe Schmidt).
“And I reckon it’s so true mate. Joe brought detail, he brought precision, he brought a hard work ethic with players working above and beyond what they would normally do. And like everything, it runs its race,” he told Fanning.
“For me, and I know publicly his image has been tarnished, but you look at what he did for Ireland rugby and the state he left it in. Now, Andy comes in and he’s a bit freer and he’ll end up getting sacked for that, mate. I’m telling you.
Advertisement
“You can maybe see signs of Ireland getting a bit loose now, looking from afar, that it’s just a bit too loose now the way they’re playing. I can understand absolutely what Joe was saying and what Joe did.”
It was in November 2024 that Jones was speaking to Fanning, which was also around the same time that Farrell embarked on a sabbatical from his role as Irish head coach to take charge of the British & Irish Lions for their subsequent summer tour of Australia.
This Saturday will see Jones’ Japanese side taking on Ireland in the Quilter Nations Series at the Aviva Stadium and while he acknowledges the multi-phase attack of his upcoming opponents has brought plenty of success under Farrell’s watch, he also believes it can become a weak point over time.
“You go through periods of play where what you’re good at becomes your weakness. There’s no doubt that Ireland brought this multi-phase live three attack to a new level. For a period of time, they were better than anyone else and they were hard to defend against. That then becomes a weakness . . . it doesn’t become a weakness, but teams get used to it and teams copy it and it becomes less effective,” Jones explained at this evening’s press conference.
“You have to move your game on. That also coincides with the loss of [Johnny] Sexton, who was brilliant at decision making. So you lose that and you lose some of the attack immediately. That’s the reality of it. Then you’ve got to start making adjustments to your attack and what I’ve seen over the last period of time is the attacks got a little bit looser, a little bit freer. That takes adjustment to play like that.
“Probably their kicking games come back a little bit because of the loss of Sexton. They don’t have that astute kicking game anymore, but you’ve got two good young 10s coming through in [Jack] Crowley and [Sam] Prendergast. I’m sure one of those will come through and be the next Sexton over the next period of time.”
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
Yet despite outlining some of the issues Farrell is currently facing with Ireland, Jones remains a huge admirer of the Wigan man. The Australian was Director of Rugby at Saracens when Farrell was still a player at the London-based club and insists he has done an excellent job since taking over Joe Schmidt as Irish supremo.
“I’ve been really impressed by him. He was always going to be a good coach. He had that feel for the game. He’s got a fair bit of manner about him. Good personality, good character. Tough, but engaging. So he was always going to be a good coach, but I think he’s really matured,” Jones added.
“I think the way that he took over from Joe and probably the first 12 months was quite difficult, about how he was going to adjust the team after Joe. I think he’s done an absolutely fantastic job doing that. Now is the next turn. Now comes the next test. You know, how do you adjust the team again? Because you’ve got a new team you’ve got to create.
“He’ll be going through that test again and it’ll be a good test for him, but he’ll handle it. As long as you people don’t give him too much of a hard time. Look out for him. Be nice to him. Find a kind spot in your heart for the coaches! It’s funny though, you Irish journalists. You’re much nicer to me when I’m not England coach. It must be the rose that puts you off!”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
9 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 comes in and he’s a bit freer and he’ll end up getting sacked for that, mate'
OVER THE COURSE of a typically entertaining pre-match press conference at the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Killiney this evening, Japan head coach Eddie Jones elaborated on some recent eye-catching remarks he made in relation to his Irish counterpart Andy Farrell.
Previously at the helm of his native Australia (in two separate tenures) and England within the international test arena, Jones was one of the key contributors to Brendan Fanning’s recently-released book ‘Touching Distance – Irish Rugby’s Battle with Great Expectations’ – which reflects on the past 20 years of the sport in Ireland.
Referencing a quote from the book ‘Quiet Leadership: Winning Hearts, Minds and Matches’ by five-time Champions League-winning manager Carlos Ancelotti that said ‘Whatever you’re good at is what you gets you the job, and you invariably get sacked for the same thing’, Jones pointed to Farrell (and his predecessor Joe Schmidt).
“And I reckon it’s so true mate. Joe brought detail, he brought precision, he brought a hard work ethic with players working above and beyond what they would normally do. And like everything, it runs its race,” he told Fanning.
“For me, and I know publicly his image has been tarnished, but you look at what he did for Ireland rugby and the state he left it in. Now, Andy comes in and he’s a bit freer and he’ll end up getting sacked for that, mate. I’m telling you.
“You can maybe see signs of Ireland getting a bit loose now, looking from afar, that it’s just a bit too loose now the way they’re playing. I can understand absolutely what Joe was saying and what Joe did.”
It was in November 2024 that Jones was speaking to Fanning, which was also around the same time that Farrell embarked on a sabbatical from his role as Irish head coach to take charge of the British & Irish Lions for their subsequent summer tour of Australia.
This Saturday will see Jones’ Japanese side taking on Ireland in the Quilter Nations Series at the Aviva Stadium and while he acknowledges the multi-phase attack of his upcoming opponents has brought plenty of success under Farrell’s watch, he also believes it can become a weak point over time.
“You go through periods of play where what you’re good at becomes your weakness. There’s no doubt that Ireland brought this multi-phase live three attack to a new level. For a period of time, they were better than anyone else and they were hard to defend against. That then becomes a weakness . . . it doesn’t become a weakness, but teams get used to it and teams copy it and it becomes less effective,” Jones explained at this evening’s press conference.
“You have to move your game on. That also coincides with the loss of [Johnny] Sexton, who was brilliant at decision making. So you lose that and you lose some of the attack immediately. That’s the reality of it. Then you’ve got to start making adjustments to your attack and what I’ve seen over the last period of time is the attacks got a little bit looser, a little bit freer. That takes adjustment to play like that.
“Probably their kicking games come back a little bit because of the loss of Sexton. They don’t have that astute kicking game anymore, but you’ve got two good young 10s coming through in [Jack] Crowley and [Sam] Prendergast. I’m sure one of those will come through and be the next Sexton over the next period of time.”
Yet despite outlining some of the issues Farrell is currently facing with Ireland, Jones remains a huge admirer of the Wigan man. The Australian was Director of Rugby at Saracens when Farrell was still a player at the London-based club and insists he has done an excellent job since taking over Joe Schmidt as Irish supremo.
“I’ve been really impressed by him. He was always going to be a good coach. He had that feel for the game. He’s got a fair bit of manner about him. Good personality, good character. Tough, but engaging. So he was always going to be a good coach, but I think he’s really matured,” Jones added.
“I think the way that he took over from Joe and probably the first 12 months was quite difficult, about how he was going to adjust the team after Joe. I think he’s done an absolutely fantastic job doing that. Now is the next turn. Now comes the next test. You know, how do you adjust the team again? Because you’ve got a new team you’ve got to create.
“He’ll be going through that test again and it’ll be a good test for him, but he’ll handle it. As long as you people don’t give him too much of a hard time. Look out for him. Be nice to him. Find a kind spot in your heart for the coaches! It’s funny though, you Irish journalists. You’re much nicer to me when I’m not England coach. It must be the rose that puts you off!”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Eddie Jones Rugby