Kieran Shannon: Ireland under Andy Farrell look unburdened by history

Under Farrell they are playing carefree rugby. And it’s working for them. Instead of playing what they think their coach told them to do, they’re playing what’s in front of them

ALL SMILES: Head coach Andy Farrell laughs with Bundee Aki and Conor Murray during an Ireland rugby squad training session at Complexe de la Chambrerie in Tours. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

A lot like John Kiely’s Limerick hurlers since the outset of their first All Ireland winning campaign, the Irish rugby team under Andy Farrell give the impression now of being unburdened by history.

They don’t think like supporters. A gritty win the previous autumn against a team from the southern hemisphere or digging out a result in Salthill early in the year has more relevance for them than Lynagh in ’91 or Lens in ’99 or the sins and errors of ’94 and ’96; most of them weren’t even alive for those near misses or horror shows of yesteryear. A team trying to control and carve out its own destiny is more concerned with its own history rather than its county’s or country’s, especially when that collective past can be inglorious.