OVER THE LAST year, every nation currently in the top 10 of World Rugby’s official rankings has beaten at least one other team inside that top 10.
South Africa are the best team in the world but even they have lost a couple of games against Australia and New Zealand.
The All Blacks have fallen to the Springboks, Argentina, and France in the past 12 months, while the French have lost to New Zealand, England, and South Africa.
Andy Farrell’s Ireland? They’ve been beaten by France and New Zealand in the last year. In that period, Ireland have also won clashes with Argentina, Fiji, Australia, England, and Scotland.
The English have fallen against the Irish and South Africans, but they’ve beaten the French, Argentinians, and Australians.
We can keep going with this, all the way down to ninth-ranked Fiji, who beat Scotland in July, and 10th-ranked Italy, who won against Australia just last week.
The point being that international rugby remains competitive, with most nations pushing hard to keep improving. It’s tough to win all the time.
The standard of coaching across the board has surely never been higher, and the pressure on those coaches has possibly never been greater either. The sheer density of coverage and comment in the traditional media and on social media has never been like this.
And, even with the scale of that competitiveness, expectations in many places have gone to new levels. Including in Ireland.
Success breeds expectation and that is a good thing. High performance is all about aiming for the very top and creating a realistic plan to get there. Irish rugby has transformed in terms of expectations.
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Ireland were disappointed with their performance in Chicago. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland won a Triple Crown in the Six Nations this year, but it has barely been an afterthought within Irish rugby, given the disappointment at Ireland’s performance in what was essentially a title decider against France in Dublin.
Even in 2024, when Ireland won the Six Nations title, there was undoubtedly a tinge of disappointment that it wasn’t a Grand Slam.
The fact that Andy Farrell’s Ireland team reached such a level of brilliance in 2022 and 2023, when they won the Grand Slam, has made it all the harder for supporters and media to accept that they are no longer operating at that level.
They’re not a million miles away and they might get back to a similar standard, but right now, there is plenty of pessimism.
As we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, long gone are the days when Ireland could lose to the All Blacks without it being seen as a sign of impending disaster. Again, Irish rugby has become accustomed to Ireland beating the Kiwis in recent years, so a 26-13 defeat is met with plenty of dismay.
The Irish coaching staff could be forgiven for being bemused by some of the more hysterical reaction. But they know it’s par for the course around professional rugby and professional sport in this day and age.
We know that Ireland’s expectations of themselves have changed hugely too. That’s something that Joe Schmidt and then Farrell have worked hard at – making Irish players believe they are as good as the best around the world.
They have increasingly targeted Grand Slams and big wins against the Southern Hemisphere giants. Ireland went to the 2023 World Cup believing they could win it. Their supporters bought into that dream and so, when they came up short after an all-time classic against New Zealand, the disappointment was even more acute.
Irish rugby yearns for the quality of play Ireland produced that year and even though they almost certainly feel like the discourse around them has got out of control, Farrell’s own team continue to have the highest expectations.
The Ireland head coach laughed yesterday when it was put to him that expectations around Ireland are at an all-time high.
Ireland are aiming to go up a gear this weekend against Australia. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
But he said it is the same within his squad.
“It is 100%, it is,” said Farrell.
“Whether it’s shown last week or this week, it will continue to be that way because it’s the only way to be. It has to be that way. We’re chasing something that is bigger than we all expect individually.”
So Ireland will be disappointed if they don’t get wins against Australia and South Africa over the next two weekends, as well as another Six Nations title next year, even if they have to travel to France and England.
Of course, the grand project is the 2027 World Cup. Farrell hasn’t won one of those yet and it’s safe to say he and his players will be aiming big once again.
They know they haven’t played to their potential at times over the last 12 months, but they are still chasing what they believe they’re capable of.
Farrell, who has been critical of his team in recent weeks, said yesterday that he feels he’s “too honest and blunt” about his players’ performances at times, but he won’t be changing.
“I always think if you’re not being honest, how are you helping people to grow?” he said.
“I think you have to say it is as it is, otherwise people ultimately don’t trust you as much.
“We’re always trying to chase some potential that we don’t realise ourselves really, and that’s pretty exciting for us.
“So we’ve got to hold ourselves accountable to do that, otherwise what’s the point?”
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'We’re chasing something that's bigger... otherwise what’s the point?'
OVER THE LAST year, every nation currently in the top 10 of World Rugby’s official rankings has beaten at least one other team inside that top 10.
South Africa are the best team in the world but even they have lost a couple of games against Australia and New Zealand.
The All Blacks have fallen to the Springboks, Argentina, and France in the past 12 months, while the French have lost to New Zealand, England, and South Africa.
Andy Farrell’s Ireland? They’ve been beaten by France and New Zealand in the last year. In that period, Ireland have also won clashes with Argentina, Fiji, Australia, England, and Scotland.
The English have fallen against the Irish and South Africans, but they’ve beaten the French, Argentinians, and Australians.
We can keep going with this, all the way down to ninth-ranked Fiji, who beat Scotland in July, and 10th-ranked Italy, who won against Australia just last week.
The point being that international rugby remains competitive, with most nations pushing hard to keep improving. It’s tough to win all the time.
The standard of coaching across the board has surely never been higher, and the pressure on those coaches has possibly never been greater either. The sheer density of coverage and comment in the traditional media and on social media has never been like this.
And, even with the scale of that competitiveness, expectations in many places have gone to new levels. Including in Ireland.
Success breeds expectation and that is a good thing. High performance is all about aiming for the very top and creating a realistic plan to get there. Irish rugby has transformed in terms of expectations.
Ireland won a Triple Crown in the Six Nations this year, but it has barely been an afterthought within Irish rugby, given the disappointment at Ireland’s performance in what was essentially a title decider against France in Dublin.
Even in 2024, when Ireland won the Six Nations title, there was undoubtedly a tinge of disappointment that it wasn’t a Grand Slam.
The fact that Andy Farrell’s Ireland team reached such a level of brilliance in 2022 and 2023, when they won the Grand Slam, has made it all the harder for supporters and media to accept that they are no longer operating at that level.
They’re not a million miles away and they might get back to a similar standard, but right now, there is plenty of pessimism.
As we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, long gone are the days when Ireland could lose to the All Blacks without it being seen as a sign of impending disaster. Again, Irish rugby has become accustomed to Ireland beating the Kiwis in recent years, so a 26-13 defeat is met with plenty of dismay.
The Irish coaching staff could be forgiven for being bemused by some of the more hysterical reaction. But they know it’s par for the course around professional rugby and professional sport in this day and age.
We know that Ireland’s expectations of themselves have changed hugely too. That’s something that Joe Schmidt and then Farrell have worked hard at – making Irish players believe they are as good as the best around the world.
They have increasingly targeted Grand Slams and big wins against the Southern Hemisphere giants. Ireland went to the 2023 World Cup believing they could win it. Their supporters bought into that dream and so, when they came up short after an all-time classic against New Zealand, the disappointment was even more acute.
Irish rugby yearns for the quality of play Ireland produced that year and even though they almost certainly feel like the discourse around them has got out of control, Farrell’s own team continue to have the highest expectations.
The Ireland head coach laughed yesterday when it was put to him that expectations around Ireland are at an all-time high.
But he said it is the same within his squad.
“It is 100%, it is,” said Farrell.
“Whether it’s shown last week or this week, it will continue to be that way because it’s the only way to be. It has to be that way. We’re chasing something that is bigger than we all expect individually.”
So Ireland will be disappointed if they don’t get wins against Australia and South Africa over the next two weekends, as well as another Six Nations title next year, even if they have to travel to France and England.
Of course, the grand project is the 2027 World Cup. Farrell hasn’t won one of those yet and it’s safe to say he and his players will be aiming big once again.
They know they haven’t played to their potential at times over the last 12 months, but they are still chasing what they believe they’re capable of.
Farrell, who has been critical of his team in recent weeks, said yesterday that he feels he’s “too honest and blunt” about his players’ performances at times, but he won’t be changing.
“I always think if you’re not being honest, how are you helping people to grow?” he said.
“I think you have to say it is as it is, otherwise people ultimately don’t trust you as much.
“We’re always trying to chase some potential that we don’t realise ourselves really, and that’s pretty exciting for us.
“So we’ve got to hold ourselves accountable to do that, otherwise what’s the point?”
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Aiming Up andy farrell expectations Ireland