The Farrell way: Acknowledge the work done and move on to the next 

NEXT JOB: Ireland head coach Andy Farrell celebrates. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Andy Farrell will do what he has done throughout his time as Ireland head coach when his squad reconvenes this evening, acknowledge the most recent performance and move on to the next task.

It does not matter whether it is a World Cup quarter-final exit to New Zealand or a stunning Guinness Six Nations opening-round victory in France, the World Rugby Coach of the Year is always looking ahead to the next game and the next training session ahead of it. 

Which means a short and succinct review of Friday night’s record 31-17 win in Marseille before preparations for Sunday’s visit of Italy to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium get underway in earnest.

That should not discount the huge hurdle his players cleared at Stade Velodrome, however. 

For not only did they bury any doubts from outside the camp that the previous October’s 28-24 loss to the All Blacks would have a damaging impact on this squad in a post-Johnny Sexton world, the emphatic nature of their five-try victory also showed this is a team more than capable of becoming the first back-to-back Grand Slam winners of the Six Nations era.

Without mentioning that specific feat, Farrell made sure to underline his pleasure at both the performance and outcome of Friday night’s win – headlined by tries for Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Beirne, Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher - with the message that this was just the start of Ireland’s 2024 campaign and the continuation of his squad’s journey under his command.

Constant improvement was the head coach’s theme after he had watched Ireland catch France asleep at the wheel, the home side’s curious concoction of passivity and over-physicality resulting in a perfect storm for the efficient and clinical yet offensively ambitious defending champions to exploit in style.

Whatever the French shortcomings, which included a double yellow card dismissal for two high hits from second-row Paul Willemse on 32 minutes when Ireland were already 17-3 ahead, Farrell's men were collectively supreme in front of a baying home crowd among the 67,000 at the Velodrome.

It was a performance that sets the bar high for the rest of the campaign and Farrell wants even more from his side in the coming weeks.

“It's not won or lost,” he said of the title race, “but it's about building on this.

“We tend to be pretty harsh on our performances that we've won because we're able to do that and make some good points so hopefully we're able to get better because of that.

“But the feelgood factor of a victory like that, it is one from one and it is just one from one, but at the same time it's a special victory, it definitely is and it's there to be celebrated, that's for sure.” 

Farrell added: “We want to be in it at the last week but internally we're hungry to be as good as we possibly can be. In reality, it's nice to get the victory and it being a nine-day turnaround now and a Bank Holiday back home, it means that the Bank Holiday can be a little sweeter for us.

“We meet back up on Monday night and get a few down days because we've been away for 12 days, away from the families. That will be good for us but in reality it's one win, it's one win out of one and we've got to be on to the next one.” 

Farrell reported a dead leg for Six Nations debutant wing Nash as the only injury concern from a typically bruising Six Nations encounter and will return to camp tonight for an update on the shoulder injury that kept outside centre Garry Ringrose out of the opening round. 

Ireland have been given a nine-day turnaround from France to Italy and the extra recuperation will allow for the bumps and bruises to ease but facing perennial wooden spoonists next up before a 14-day hiatus ahead of the Wales game in Dublin on February 24 presents something of a selection dilemma for a game which has traditionally afforded opposition coaches the leeway to change things up personnel-wise.

Farrell was cautious in his post-match comments about his ability to freshen up his team.

“Yes and no. Whatever's right for the team. There's always the balance about opportunity but also doing what's right for the team and the cohesion of the team going forward.

“It's a bit of an awkward one, isn't it? We've only had one game together so we'll how we shape up on Monday.” 

Beating France in the manner which Ireland did handed Farrell his first win as head coach against Les Bleus on French soil and the progress made by his side in the two years since a heartbreaking loss to them in Paris points to a huge development in the mental strength of his players, some of whom admitted they had been shellshocked by the noise and passion of the Stade de France crowd that night in February 2022.

Stade Velodrome was even noisier on Friday night and no less febrile but Farrell wants further improvement in all facets of Ireland’s output.

“It's like the rest of our game, there's no end to it, the same as the journey. There are more stops along the way and this was one of those.

“There's no end to achieving the right mental capacity to be the best team that you can possibly be. But it is something that we value as huge in our psyche because, at the end of the day, the game's all about decision making and it's an emotional game, and once you make those decisions about how accurate you can be on the back of it.

“Over the years, it's always been about physicality and getting one over on your opposition as far as that's concerned but being accurate with your decision making and then being able to be accurate with your physicality because of those decisions is something that we constantly strive to get better at.

“But more than that, making sure that we get over ourselves and not carry it on to the next challenge is something that is tough in an environment like that, with an atmosphere and when it means so much to the group.

“But we're learning that pretty quickly actually so it's getting better. Some are getting better than most but by and large we're making good strides in that regard.”