Andy Farrell 'comfortable' with provinces signing of front rows

COMFORTABLE: Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell speaks to the press. Pic: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott.

Andy Farrell has expressed his confidence that IRFU high-performance director David Humphreys’ green light for a spate of prop signings from abroad will not harm the development of young Irish front rowers.

The Ireland head coach is two years out from the next World Cup and has a handful of promising young props in and around his squad with Thomas Clarkson, Jack Boyle and Paddy McCarthy all earning caps in recent times.

Test standard props are gold dust in rugby in general, all the more so in Ireland where there are less than 200 players contracted between the four provinces, so blooding them at club and country levels is critical.

Humphreys explained last summer, shortly after assuming his role with the union, that there would be no more front-row forwards coming into the Irish system as of 2025 “until we have got the strength in depth to support the provinces and Ireland in the medium to long term.”

The reality has been different.

Leinster had by then been given the green light to sign French international Rabah Slimani for a second year. Munster have just brought in former Leinster forward Michael Alalatoa and are said to be on the brink of adding South African hooker Marnus van der Merwe.

Australia’s Angus Bell, meanwhile, is about to start life at Ulster.

“I suppose you should ask David about that, or the provinces, but I know that there is a plan that goes behind all that,” said Farrell, “and what you see on the surface isn't always what's going on behind the scenes as far as people do need a dig-out every now and again.

“But I'd be comfortable enough that the likes of Paddy and Tom would be given the game time that we need. If not, obviously the questions will be asked anyway, I would have thought.”

Farrell was speaking in the wake of the pool draw for the 2027 World Cup in Sydney when Ireland were paired with Scotland for a third successive tournament, Uruguay and Portugal in Pool D.