Andy Farrell not putting a name on Ireland's Six Nations ambitions

HIGH EXPECTATIONS: Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Another year, another Guinness Six Nations campaign and the same response from Andy Farrell when asked what will represent a good championship for Ireland in 2023. As usual, when the question came at the annual media bun fight on Monday to launch “Rugby’s Greatest Championship”, the answer did not give mention of any titles or grand ambitions.

Ireland kick off this season’s tournament and this World Cup year in Cardiff against Warren Gatland’s Wales a week on Saturday with expectations high. Yet the head coach who last year delivered the Triple Crown, a series win against the All Blacks in New Zealand, and a clean sweep in the November Tests to confirm his team’s status as World Rugby’s number one-ranked nation was keeping his players’ feet firmly grounded.

So what will constitute a good Six Nations for Ireland?

“Well, obviously progressing as a group and getting better as a team,” Farrell said. “We feel if we do that we'll be in the mix and there or thereabouts.

“What would you expect me to say? We want to win every game we play in. We want to win and perform and do the best we can and to keep going as a group.” 

Farrell has always made great play of the journey he wants his squad to take with the World Cup in France in eight months the destination before it starts all over again. He took over the role from Joe Schmidt after his predecessor’s side imploded on the final leg of the last World Cup cycle when he was defence coach but has arrived at the corresponding juncture determined for history not to repeat itself. 

Ireland are better prepared this time around and Farrell has been aided in his quest by a less than spectacular end to 2022 that delivered on results with Autumn Nations Series wins over South Africa, Fiji and Australia but in the group’s belief represented a plateauing in performance levels.

He agreed that may represent the perfect scenario for a coach intent on squeezing more percentage points of effort from his charges in the coming weeks and months.

“It is. I think so, but the proof is in the pudding, isn't it? There will be some honest feedback on Tuesday when we meet back up as a group and everyone is a realist and everyone is honest with each other.

“We know where we need to go and where we're concentrating ourselves before the Wales game. But having said that, one area that we have been working really hard on is the mental side of our game and keeping our composure nice and calm, especially when things aren't going our way. There were tough battles in the autumn, especially the South Africa and Australia games but we did find a way, which is a skill in itself.” 

Yet Farrell does not believe Six Nations success and World Cup glory in the same year need to be mutually exclusive.

“No, we will be honest enough with ourselves to see where we are at. I know that we could have all the ambition in the world to finish number one, but in reality, we could still improve as a team and finish number two etc.

“But the lads are desperate to be successful and win. That's the next thing that's in front of us and how people perform and how we deal with that as a group will grow us to be able to pick the right squad and we know the type of characters, whether they are growing or not with the rest of the season, and then we roll into pre-season, don't we?

“We finally get to have the players for a full summer and hopefully make some big improvements before the World Cup starts.” 

The hard work starts on Tuesday at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre in Abbotstown, west Dublin and continues in Portugal on the Algarve from Thursday before Ireland move straight to Cardiff to take on Wales.

“It’s all about preparing for Wales but the first week is definitely about us,” Farrell said. “It’s pretty intense, camp. We meet up tomorrow so two intense days, whether it be physically or mentally, to get on the plane to Portugal on Thursday, having a day off and train hard Friday, Saturday. Hopefully that gives us an insight of where we’re at because we try and get to and what we try and pride ourselves on is being as normal as we possibly can be as far as test-match week is concerned. So we’ve a lot of work to do when we get there.” 

That Joey Carbery will not be there at Quinta di Lago does not mean Farrell does not expect to see the overlooked Munster fly-half feature in future Ireland camps, though the head coach refused to discuss what the 27-year-old will need to improve to regain his place.

“I personally would like to keep the conversation that I had with him private because it's between me and him,” Farrell said. “Obviously he knows what he needs to work on in his game. I give feedback to everyone else in the squad as well and that will stay the same.

“I thought he went well yesterday (against Toulouse). I know there will be a good reaction from him and that's what we are ultimately trying to achieve.

“We are after people competing against each other. I asked Ross (Byrne) to do the same over the last couple of years, and he's been doing that. He deserves a chance to show that he can transfer that onto the international stage.

“Joey will go away and work unbelievably hard to get back in the room and I've no doubt, he'll give us even more headaches further down the track.”