Andy Farrell: 'We've got to find a way to keep testing development players'

Farrell had said he did not have the luxury of selecting from “thousands of players” as an Ireland coach, but while he said that could be a strength for Irish Rugby, he bemoaned the lack of game time for development players

BIG HIT: Head coach Andy Farrell reveals his senior options at front-row are limited.

Andy Farrell has revealed his concerns about Ireland’s lack of front-row depth following a recent spate of injuries in his Test-class players.

Ireland will have to do without their first-choice hooker and tighthead prop for the second game in a row in this Autumn Nations Series when they face Argentina in Dublin on Friday night with Dan Sheehan injured long-term and Tadhg Furlong unable to shake off the hamstring injury which initially forced him out of last week’s defeat by New Zealand.

Finlay Bealham will start at number three against the Pumas but a head injury to his replacement last Friday, Tom O’Toole, means the head coach has handed a potential debut to Thomas Clarkson on the bench. Clarkson was one of five uncapped players named as training panellists at the start of the November Test window but has been pressed into service as Ireland go deep into their depth charts.

A similar situation has been avoided so far at hooker following a rapid recovery from ankle surgery for Ronan Kelleher, who will start against Argentina, backed up by Rob Herring, whose appearance off the bench last Friday was his first action of the season following injury.

“You know, you think you’re going okay in regards to most positions,” Farrell said. “Hooker would be a position where we thought we had a bit of strength, but like tighthead or loosehead, you’re one or two injuries down and you’re having a look at the depth chart.

NEW MAN: Thomas Clarkson could see action against Los Pumas. 

“So, it’s perfect for Tom because he gets to test himself. The reason why we took him and (uncapped loosehead prop) Jack Boyle as well is because of the game time and the improvement that we’ve seen within that game time this year. And every time we take development players away we judge them on the here and now, and hope that we can fast track them as soon as we possibly can.

“Now obviously there are a few injuries that happened but we’ve been really impressed with his (Clarkson’s) form and how he’s trained as well. We’ve had him before on the Emerging Tour and it’s come at the right time for him and for us, I would have thought.” 

Farrell had also said he did not have the luxury of selecting from “thousands of players” as an Ireland coach, but while he said that could be a strength for Irish Rugby, he bemoaned the lack of game time for development players behind established seniors.

"That's why we've got to try and find a way of keep finding ways of giving them an opportunity to be tested, hence the Emerging stuff and stuff in between.

“One of those things now that... stops a little bit of continuity, back in the day where the URC carried on playing as we're going through competitions, Six Nations etc, and you used to see 22 or 23 year olds getting fantastic game time and the conveyor belt kept on coming because of that. We've got to find a way because that doesn't happen anymore in the competition so we've got to keep finding a way to get these players through.”