MORE THAN EVER, Andy Farrell’s message during this autumn window has been that there are no excuses for not performing.

That’s always one of his mantras, but he has doubled down on it even further in the face of the challenges of this particular window.

Many of Ireland’s squad had played barely any rugby before launching into the November Tests. Farrell might have harboured some private fears that his team would take a couple of weeks to really get rolling, but he has been insistent that it shouldn’t be the case when speaking publicly.

He had hoped Saturday’s game against Japan would see Ireland deliver a statement performance that gave them real momentum but that wasn’t the case, even if Farrell’s side finished strongly at the Aviva Stadium.

With an inconsistency remaining in their play, Ireland look like a team low on confidence but their head coach again stressed that there’s no excuse.

“Well, that’s our job to make sure that that’s not the case,” said Farrell when asked if this Irish team are indeed low on confidence.

“If it is, we will address that. But I suppose, where they are at, you can have all sorts of excuses, can’t you, with the start of the season and travel, jet lag, all that. But not really. It shouldn’t matter.

“We shouldn’t be giving ourselves that excuse if subconsciously that’s in the back of people’s minds. We need to address that really, as well.

“It was almost like a Charity Shield game, and that shouldn’t be the case. Anytime you play for Ireland, it should be a Test match where you go out there with proper intention from the start and play your game.

“It seems that most people have had a game, so we need to get over ourselves and get on with the big-boy stuff.”

Jack Crowley scores for Ireland. Gary Carr / INPHO Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO

The truth is that Ireland’s form so far in this window isn’t all that different to how they played this time last year.

Their in-game inconsistency continued during this year’s Six Nations at times and they have yet to look like a team who is really getting into the kind of flow they want.

That’s why Farrell is so keen for his men to “get over ourselves” and get into the right state of mind to play their best rugby.

“I wasn’t on the field, but I could see it was as though we were suppressing ourselves,” said Farrell.

“When everyone’s flying it, you can see it in body language, can’t you? You can see with how people move, etc. So we were just slowing ourselves down mentally and therefore physically as well.”

Australia are in town this week and Farrell said he was expecting a “hell of a Test match” against a team he has had lots of recent experience of coaching against on the Lions tour. He praised their athletic, pacy backline and said their pack stepped up against the Lions during the summer.

Joe Schmidt’s men lost to Italy on Saturday and there are fears in Australia that the Wallabies are fatigued after a long season but Farrell indicated his sense that this one will be a particularly big game for the Aussies and for Schmidt on a personal level.

As for his own side, Farrell is hoping they will be able to produce more passages of attack like the one that lead to Jack Crowley’s first-half try against Japan.

“We know that’s what we’re after,” said Farrell. “We were forcing the pass, not being patient enough at times, which is not good. Then obviously not playing on the gainline and getting our forwards into the game as much as you would have liked.

“A lot of it comes from not punching onto the ball with proper intention in the first place and not getting quick ball. We kicked a couple out of the ruck ourselves, so it was a multiple of things really.

“Showing them good practice is important as well, and there’s plenty of good practice in the first half, but obviously mainly in the second.”

Farrell said Mack Hansen could return for Ireland. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

In terms of personnel, Farrell is likely to reintroduce most of the frontline players who sat out the Japan game, with the likes of Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong set to bolster an Irish pack that will be looking for a much better performance in the set-piece and in the carry.

There will definitely be a change at fullback after Jamie Osborne’s shoulder injury, with Farrell suggesting that Mack Hansen, who hasn’t been with the group yet this autumn due to injury, could come into the mix, with Jimmy O’Brien and Jacob Stockdale already in the squad.

“I think Mack is progressing, so we’ll see how he is,” said Farrell. “I don’t know the full story there but I know he’s progressing well. Jacob loves, by his admission, playing fullback. So, there’s options with Jimmy O’Brien as well. It’s just unfortunate for Jamie.”

It will also be interesting to see if Farrell gives Sam Prendergast a start at out-half after his positive impression off the bench against Japan.

Jack Crowley has been the man at number 10 for the two November Tests so far and obviously wants to hang onto that shirt. He showed his class for his own first-half try, which was the pick of the Irish scores.

“I thought the try epitomised what he’s after and what we’re after as a team, taking responsibility and backing what he sees and making the call and communicating and getting that communication with authority for others to be able to listen and adhere to,” said Farrell.

“I suppose that strength can also be a weakness at times where we didn’t quite flow with intention because it’s not just Jack, it’s a backline, it’s a communication thing.

“Playing early, I thought we missed a couple of opportunities; it’s just not the halfbacks’ fault, it’s a combination of things. So, yeah, there’s always ups and downs.

“I thought he [Prendergast] played with nice pace when he came on. Certainly brave with this touchline kicking, I thought that was tremendous.

“He turned the corner well and played at the line and kept them hanging off him and allowed people to run into big holes, etc. He did OK when he came on.”