Gary Keegan drafted in to work with Andy Farrell's Ireland

The highly-respected Dubliner has played a key role in some standout Irish sporting success stories and he is now playing his part with a squad undergoing major transition and struggling for form

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell at squad training at the High Performance Centre today. Farrell has drafted in performance coach Gary Keegan into the set up. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Gary Keegan, the renowned performance coach whose fingerprints have been found on some of Irish sports' most successful operations, has been working with Andy Farrell's Ireland squad through the recent Autumn Nations Cup campaign.

Performance anxiety was one of the areas identified in a 2019 World Cup review the full extent of which was not released for general consumption. Enda McNulty, another well-known performance coach, was embedded with the squad for that tournament and for some time before.

Like McNulty, Keegan has put together a sterling CV. He rose to prominence as the High Performance director of the IABA's elite boxing programme and turned a dilapidated and archaic system into a medal factory at Olympic, World and European levels.

A former Director of the Irish Sports Institute, he has also been involved with Leinster Rugby, the Tipperary side that won the 2019 All-Ireland hurling championship and Jim Gavin's footballers with whom he spent a number of seasons.

Also involved in what might be termed an holistic role is former senior team manager Mick Kearney who served in that capacity during Joe Schmidt's time and whose many contacts in the business and sports worlds are just part of the support he is providing for the players.

“Yeah, Gary Keegan has been with us for some weeks now and he has been doing a tremendous job so that process has started,” said Farrell this evening. “Mick Kearney was obviously in in previous years as the manager but he is there as a mentor for many of the players as well.

“A lot of our players, it isn't just the stress of a match week, it is life outside of rugby as well and that can be a whole build-up in a different manager. Mick helps massively with that.

With Gary and Mick we are well on our way to starting something there that will be a big help in the future.

Keegan has been engaging with the players on an individual and on a collective level. The breadth of his expertise spans performance, leadership, culture change and team building and Farrell has lauded the manner in which he has helped bring the squad and the management team.

Rob Herring describes Keegan's part as small inputs that can help towards the greater goal. Things like routine and how it can be tweaked to maximise performance. Marginal gains, as they would probably be called a few years ago.

"It's been good,” said the Ulster hooker. “It's something you probably hear a lot: trying to find an edge mentally and just to change things up. It's good to get another person's insight into how we're doing in camp and some of the things he has picked up, what we can improve and what we're doing well.”

Anxiety levels can't have been helped by recent performances against England and Georgia but a huge proportion of Farrell's players have been operating without knowing whether they will still be employed by the IRFU beyond the summer.

High-Performance chief David Nucifora revealed that over half of the country's leading players will be out of contract at that point as things stand due to the uncertainty over Covid and the decision to stall contract talks until the financial situation becomes clearer for 2021 and beyond.

"As a head coach, I know all about that and I know where everyone is individually,” said Farrell whose own contract runs through to the next World Cup in 2023. “Honestly, the feeling in the group, you would never know it exists.

“The players have been absolutely magnificent for a period of eight weeks, the drive has been second to none to want to learn and get better.

You would never think that that's at the forefront of the mind, which is massive credit to them.

Among the more high-profile names whose deals have just months to run are Peter O'Mahony, CJ Stander, Tadhg Furlong and captain Jonathan Sexton who returns to the team which faces Scotland on Saturday after missing the last two outings with injury.

Farrell stated again that much of what Ireland have done across five games which include the delayed Six Nations fixtures against Italy and France has been with one eye on next spring's Six Nations with over 40 players used by the new head coach through 2020 in total.

"Johnny coming back from a hamstring injury is a big boost for the lads,” said the coach. “He's our captain and has been missing for a couple of weeks, although he's been working unbelievably hard in the background to make his presence felt.

"He's been ahead of schedule, chomping at the bit, and he's ready to go. He brings a feeling to the group that makes everyone feel right and ready to go for a big match at the weekend."