Andy Farrell says 'a lot of room for improvement' as Ireland switch focus to All Blacks

Ireland's head coach Andy Farrell (right) and Johnny Sexton (left) lead their team in after warming up before the win over Japan. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA 

As good as this performance was from Ireland, Andy Farrell knows it will take much more from his players to defeat New Zealand this Saturday than was necessary against an out-of-sorts Japan.

That will not exactly be a revelation to anyone who saw the All Blacks rampage through Wales’s defences in the final quarter in Cardiff eight days ago, never mind the second string that swept Italy aside 47-9 in Rome on Saturday while needing only 69 tackles to get the job done.