Evolution not revolution but Farrell has big calls to make

The Ireland boss will reveal his Six Nations squad -- and a captain -- today.

DAY JOB: New Lions boss will focus on the Six Nations and hope to rebound from World Cup disappointment. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Andy Farrell didn’t give much away at the Rugby Writers of Ireland awards this day last week. Everyone knew he was being unveiled as British and Irish Lions head coach in London the next morning but the evening was played, more or less, with a straight bat.

There was some light let in when talk turned to today’s Six Nations squad announcement with the Ireland head coach admitting that he hates the phrase ‘four-year cycle’ and pushing back on the idea that this spring would be some new start after the World Cup just gone.

“There’s no such story for us as wiping a slate clean, or whatever it may be. It’s continuing to grow. Every single year somebody retires, somebody gets injured, somebody lacks form and somebody else comes through. It’s no different this year. We continue on our journey.” 

Evolution it is then, not revolution.

Farrell did name six uncapped players to his first Six Nations squad back in 2020 but that was at the foothills of his time in charge. Only two rookies made it in each of the next two years and just Jamie Osborne was similarly green this time 12 months ago.

Change is coming, that’s not up for debate, but injuries and retirement will force much of it with Johnny Sexton and Keith Earls having crossed the white line for the last time. Dave Kilcoyne, Ross Byrne, Mack Hansen, Jimmy O’Brien and Rob Herring are all carrying knocks.

That’s seven of the 33-man World Cup panel crossed out.

Sexton leaves behind a significant void, not just at No.10 but in his role as captain. The 38-year old played 118 times for Ireland. The sextet of Ross Byrne, Harry Byrne, Ciaran Frawley, Jack Crowley, Billy Burns and Jack Carty have collated just 52 between them.

Crowley is first in the queue given his exposure at the World Cup, his form with Munster and the injury issues plaguing Leinster’s contenders. Ross Byrne has been out since late November, Harry has been hobbled more than once and Frawley is nursing bruised ribs.

It may be that Harry Byrne and Frawley get the nod behind Crowley for now but the case has been made to bring 20-year Sam Prendergast into the mix as well, even if it is in the previously used role of a ‘development player’.

Age may only be a number, but it shouldn’t be discounted.

With Sexton, Earls, Herring and Kilcoyne – average age 35.25 – all unavailable, it leaves Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray, both 34, as the elder lemons in the squad and this is significant in itself when taking a bird’s eye view.

That pair will continue to be integral on and off the park, regardless of O’Mahony’s contract situation, and that brings us on seamlessly to the issue of captaincy with the Munster man one of a handful listed as strong, but by no means straightforward, candidates.

If it's O’Mahony’s age that stands against him then it's Garry Ringrose’s remove from the corridors of power and influence at outside-centre, or James Ryan’s dip in fortunes at the World Cup and the emergence of Joe McCarthy in that second row.

Maybe the curveball in this squad will be the skipper. A Caelan Doris, or a Dan Sheehan.

That aside, the main area of change will be in the back three where, with Earls and Andrew Conway retired and Hansen and O’Brien currently injured, Farrell and his assistants have some very interesting decisions to be making.

Hugo Keenan and James Lowe are certainties. Jacob Stockdale is a left-winger, so isn’t in the running to replace Hansen, but he has made get-togethers consistently and is in good form with Ulster so he is another lock.

Jordan Larmour will surely make it too, on the back of a decent campaign with Leinster, and Calvin Nash is in that same boat. That’s still just five in a department that usually numbers seven, so Shane Daly and Rob Baloucoune will be keeping their phones on.

The back row isn’t light on bodies but it may be that the end of this queue is shaken up a bit with Tom Ahern (a hybrid option at six and lock) and John Hodnett impressing consistently at Munster and other sprinkles of interest abound elsewhere.

Injury to Rob Herring should allow clubmate Tom Stewart back in, Caolin Blade might be wondering if there’s room for another scrum-half and everyone from Antoine Frisch to Cathal Forde and James Hume will think similarly about a fifth centre.

Add to this those who lived on the fringes last year. Men like Gavin Coombes, Cian Prendergast, Nick Timoney and Kieran Treadwell. And is Oli Jager fit enough to get a nod, or is it too soon for him anyway?

What’s certain is that Farrell will pick a squad with the team’s defence of this year’s Six Nations title in mind. Disappointing as the World Cup quarter-final loss to New Zealand was, it is 32 years since anyone put back-to-back Grand Slams together.

“It seems a lifetime ago now,” said Farrell of that five-from-five Six Nations tilt last year. “There has been a lot of water under the bridge since then but it is important to reflect on your times together as a team because a Grand Slam is hard to come by.”