Donal Lenihan: The day Andy Farrell emerged from Joe Schmidt's shadow
AURA: Andy Farrell speaks to the Irish players ahead of last Saturday's test match. Picture: Dan Sheridan, Inpho
For Andy Farrell, the wheel has finally come full circle. Now two years in the job as Ireland head coach, the restrictions imposed by the global pandemic have meant heâs been forced to operate under the radar.
All press conferences are conducted by zoom, there is little or no public interaction with a very personable man whose strength of personality and sheer presence has been a major factor throughout a brilliant professional career in rugby league and union, both as a player and coach.
Capped by Great Britain as an 18-year-old, he became the youngest player ever to captain the team at 21 years and 4 months. Farrell has always had an aura that helps bring people with him. That strength of personality has been camouflaged somewhat by Covid, at least to those outside the confines of the Irish squad's restrictive bio bubble.
As a result, the public hasn't got to know him and, through no fault of his own, he hasnât captured the imagination in the way Joe Schmidt did throughout his outstanding stint with Leinster and Ireland. Last Saturday has changed all that, not only by beating New Zealand but in the manner in which that memorable victory was achieved.
Farrell was handed the head coachâs baton by Schmidt on the evening of the shattering World Cup quarter-final loss to New Zealand in Yokohama in 2019. As a finishing point for the remarkable success, he achieved in Irish rugby, that defeat couldnât have been more deflating for Schmidt.
Then again, thatâs what New Zealand have been inflicting on teams for years. It must have been even more shattering for Schmidt and his coaching staff when, only a week later, England blitzed New Zealand in the semi-final with their most complete performance of the professional era.
Schmidtâs Ireland had beaten that England side on numerous occasions during his reign, making that win even less palatable for the New Zealander. He must have mused whether, with a different set of circumstances or at a different point in his reign, his Irish team could have delivered something similar.
At least Farrell could take pride from the performance of Eddie Jonesâs men that day given his son Owen played a central role as England captain. As so often happens in sport, England failed to reproduce that epic performance in the final a week later in their comprehensive defeat to South Africa.
While last Saturdayâs win represents the high point to date in Farrellâs tenure, lessons from the past must surely have been floating around in his head once the euphoria of the day subsided and the details began to be dissected. The most positive thing Farrell can take from the performance is that Ireland still have so much scope for improvement.
Ireland left at least three try-scoring opportunities behind them in the opening half alone. The decision to disallow Tadhg Furlongâs thunderous effort for a double movement from Ronan Kelleher was correct in law but is generally only applied if blatantly obvious and the perpetrator had scored himself. In real time, Kelleherâs lunge off his knee was minimal and happens several times in a game.
The point here is that Kelleher will learn from his over-eagerness and, when placed in a similar situation again, be content to just recycle the ball. These are the fine margins, the ability to stay calm under pressure, that Ireland still need to refine.
On two other occasions before the break, Ireland lost control of possession within two metres of the New Zealand line. When you play them in the heat of a World Cup knockout game, these are the opportunities that have to be converted.
These are some of the areas Farrell and Paul O'Connell will now focus on to bring Ireland to the next level. When set in those positions again, Ireland need to show a little more patience, and be more accurate in the way they look after the ball.
To be fair, such was the atmosphere - remember neither side has encountered anything like the cacophonous din for nearly two years - that players can be forgiven for getting a bit ahead of themselves given the adrenaline levels flowing through the Irish players, in particular, must have been at an all-time high.
Saturday served to remind us just what an influence an engaged crowd can play on occasions such as this. Every New Zealand error was magnified by the roars of the crowd, every loose pass accentuated by the groans, every Irish maul supplemented by 50,000 cries of âheaveâ.
In the end, despite Irelandâs dominance and the fact that the world's No 1-ranked side spent the entire game on the back foot, the result could so well have been different had Reiko Ioaneâs pass to his brother Akira been a few inches flatter. Even then it required several different camera angles to finally convince the officials that the pass had gone forward out of the hand.
Minutes later, James Lowe saved the day with a last-ditch tackle on Reiko Ioane. Peter O'Mahony executed the perfect poach to win the penalty which Joey Carbery converted to extend the lead to six points which, against them, still leaves you vulnerable.
How ironic that Loweâs intervention may well have changed the course of the day given that only four years ago the two Ioane brothers were teammates of his on a New Zealand Maori side defeated by the Lions with O'Mahony as captain. Despite Irelandâs dominance, it was that close in the end even if Farrell's men thoroughly deserved this victory.
Perhaps the most thrilling aspect of the win was the manner in which it was achieved. In this Farrell has finally emerged from the shadow of Schmidt. The way Ireland are going about their business, the way they are holding onto the ball and playing out of the tackle is energising to watch.
No wonder those who spent up to âŹ170 for the most expensive seats in the house spent most of the afternoon on their feet. The sheer excitement of what was unfolding before their eyes left them with no choice.
Schmidtâs Ireland played a very controlled and pragmatic form of rugby. The New Zealander played to Irelandâs strengths, oversaw a system around the breakdown where cleanouts and ball presentation were prioritised, enabling Ireland hold onto the ball for long periods in the opposition twenty two. The net result of all that was usually points on the board from penalties conceded or close in tries off a lineout platform.
No team should ever be derided for playing to its strengths. The mistake Schmidt and his management team made was in not evolving the way Ireland played in the year leading into the 2019 World Cup. Given that Farrell was part of that management team, he will do well to remember the mistakes of the past.
Another pleasing aspect on Saturday was the mental fortitude shown after leaving all those points behind them in the first half. Normally against New Zealand, you donât get a second chance. The manner in which the players parked that disappointment to win the third quarter by an astonishing 15-0 offered another measure of improvement given that âperformance anxietyâ was cited as a key reason for the team's failure to perform in Japan two years ago.
Since then a new breed of Irish player has emerged on the scene. Hugo Keenan, Ronan Kelleher, Caelan Doris, Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe have been sensational over the last two weeks. Andrew Porterâs shift to loose head prop has resulted in Ireland fielding one of the most explosive front row units in the game - and thereâs more to come.
Farrell should now expose the next layer of promising young talent, either from the start or off the bench, against Argentina on Sunday. While I wouldnât be clamouring for wholesale change, it would be great if, after all thatâs been achieved over the last two weekends, the likes of Gavin Coombes, Ryan Baird, Craig Casey and Dan Sheehan were offered the chance to show that they too have the skill set to operate in Farrellâs exciting new template. The standard has now been set. Itâs time to test how far the depth chart extends.
