A clinical edge remains Andy Farrell's missing ingredient

After an unwanted record return of two defeats to kick off his second Guinness Six Nations championship, Ireland will arrive in Italy with a team that can restore a cutting edge

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell at the IRFU High Performance Centre earlier this week. Picture: Dan Sheridan

Eleven games into his tenure as head coach Andy Farrell still hasn’t found what he’s looking for, but as Ireland prepare to face Italy in Rome tomorrow, he is hoping the missing link can be discovered at Stadio Olimpico.

After an unwanted record return of two defeats to kick off his second Guinness Six Nations championship, Ireland will arrive in the Italian capital with a team their boss believes can restore a cutting edge. That would give hope that for all the talk about an evolving gameplan under attack coach Mike Catt there is some solid evidence about to reveal itself that the objective is more than a pipe dream.