Andy Farrell: Rugby World Cup battle with South Africa and Scotland gets juices flowing
Andy Farrell: ‘You’re always going to judge yourselves against the best and at this moment in time South Africa are number one. That’s a great challenge for us.‘
Andy Farrell was wise not to focus on potential quarter-final opponents at France 2023 given that yesterday’s World Cup 2023 pool draw gave Ireland a tough test just to progress to the knockout stages.
Reigning champions South Africa and Six Nations rivals Scotland stand between the Irish and the knockout stages after a draw in Paris attended by French president Emmanuel Macron and conducted by icons of French cultural life, including chef Guy Savoy and shoe designer Christian Louboutin.
One of either New Zealand, Ireland’s slayers in Japan 14 months ago at the quarter-final stage, or the resurgent hosts France, look likely to be the obstacle blocking the Irish path to a historic first World Cup semi-final appearance.
For a side upset by Japan in the pool last time out, though, it is best to focus on what will be immediately in front of Ireland on French soil from September 2023 and it will not come much tougher than the Springboks.
Head coach Farrell was in chipper mood yesterday as he reacted from the safe distance of Ireland’s High Performance Centre in Dublin to the events in Paris as he learned that qualifiers from Europe — potentially Russia, Spain, or maybe Portugal — and from an Asia-Pacific play-off, likely to be Samoa or Tonga, will make up Pool B in 31 months.
“There’s nothing better than a Rugby World Cup draw to get your rugby juices flowing,” Farrell said. “I think our players and fans alike know what the journey looks like and it’s super exciting.
“You’re always going to judge yourselves against the best and at this moment in time South Africa are number one in the world and rightly so. That’s a great challenge for us.
“The rest of the group is pretty similar to the last World Cup, regarding Scotland being in there and we’ll look at how the other draws shape up but it looks like similar types of teams as we got in the last World Cup.
“With world number one South Africa in for Japan, it’s certainly something that gets you thinking about next steps and the journey ahead.
“We get to play Scotland every year in the Six Nations, that rivalry will continue South Africa, it looks like we might get to play them in one of the November internationals. It’s not confirmed yet, but it looks like we’ll get to play them once before the World Cup which would be great.
“Obviously, there’s a Lions tour (to South Africa in 2021) and that that could be an opportunity for our guys.”
As to a potentially daunting last-eight opponent, Farrell said: “There’s always different ramifications at a World Cup, so we won’t get ahead of ourselves.
“Having an opportunity to play against the hosts is great, like we found in Japan. Italy — we know them well. New Zealand, we’ll probably get to play them once hopefully or maybe twice in the next couple of autumn windows. But there’s a three-game tour to New Zealand (in 2022) so that’s super exciting, something to build on.”
The Ireland boss was not the only head coach in Pool B to look no further than the group for pitfalls and opportunities. New Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber, the former Munster defence coach under his immediate predecessor Rassie Erasmus, reflected on the prospect of one of Ireland, Scotland, or South Africa missing out on the knockout stages completely.
“You look at our pool and the quality that’s in that pool, even if you go Asia/Pacific 1 might be Tonga or Samoa, it will not be the right thing to start focusing on quarter-finals and knockout rugby,” Nienaber said.
“You will have to be really clued up and on top of your game just to get out of the pool. From our position, we will focus massively on the next three years.
“You will need a proper squad with good experience to get out of that pool so we will focus on that and then focus on the pool as it is.”
There is plenty that binds the three main protagonists in Pool B, with Ireland beating Scotland in Dublin just 10 days ago to bring down the curtain on 2020 in the Autumn Nations Cup. Yet there could be much more to bring this trio together by 2023 with the likelihood of South Africa’s four Super Rugby franchises joining a PRO14 expanded into a PRO16 in the near future.
Negotiations are underway and the prospect of the four provinces playing the Bulls, Lions, Sharks, and Stormers home and away every season sounds like a win-win for all concerned.
Farrell, Nienaber, and Scotland boss Gregor Townsend certainly thought so yesterday.
Nienaber, who with Erasmus joined Munster in summer 2016 and then followed the boss back to their homeland in November 2017 to guide the Springboks to glory, has as good a perspective on the merits for both parties as anyone.
“Having coached there before it would be very good for us,” he said. “I was unbelievably surprised when we started coaching in the PRO12. It’s one of the fiercest competitions in all facets — the set-piece, breakdown, skill level. It would be a big step for our franchises, Super Rugby is a little bit different.
“It would be a big step up with the tactics, the weather, and the different playing surfaces, different referees from different countries that you have to manage.
“I think it’s probably, and I’m not talking down any other competitions, but I think it’s very close to Test match rugby. I’m super excited for our players to join a PRO16 or PRO14.
“It will be phenomenal.”
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