Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

'The ones that get flustered... are the ones that lose the plot'

By PA
Johnny Sexton (L) the Ireland captain talks to head coach Andy Farrell during the Ireland captain's run at the Aviva Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Andy Farrell believes Ireland must remain calm and “roll with the punches” to realise their potential at the Rugby World Cup.

ADVERTISEMENT

Former dual code international Farrell is preparing for his first global tournament as head coach having previously been involved as a player and an assistant coach.

Six Nations champions Ireland have topped the world rankings for more than a year and arrived in France on Thursday among the favourites to go all the way.

Englishman Farrell has welcomed setbacks during his tenure to challenge his players and prevent them becoming fazed on the biggest stage.

“The key learnings are the scenarios that we’ve tried to put ourselves through in the last few years,” the 48-year-old said of his previous World Cup experiences in both rugby union and rugby league.

“You hear me say constantly ‘best laid plans and all that’, it’s 100 per cent that at a World Cup.

Related

“The ones that get flustered with all that because they’re not ready for all different types of permutations are the ones that lose the plot.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The key to progressing in a competition like this is staying calm, keeping your feet under you and making sure that you just roll with the punches and be the best version of yourself no matter what happens and have no-excuse mentality.

“We’ve tried to put ourselves in those type of positions before and we know what’s coming through.”

Ireland have been placed in the tougher half of the draw and begin their campaign next Saturday against Romania in Bordeaux.

Farrell’s men then face Tonga, reigning champions South Africa and Scotland in Pool B, with hosts France or New Zealand likely opponents should they progress to the quarter-finals.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related

Asked if this is the most competitive and open World Cup, Farrell said: “I think everyone loves to say that anyway.

“Everyone wants it to be like that because there’s so many good teams that can beat each other on any given day.

“The pressures of the competition within itself, the history of all that shows that it is going to be a wide-open competition. So one step at a time. Let’s see if we can build some momentum.”

Farrell assisted Joe Schmidt at the 2019 World Cup before stepping up to become Ireland boss following a quarter-final exit against the All Blacks.

Ireland World Cup andy farrell
Johnny Sexton (L) the Ireland captain talks to head coach Andy Farrell during the Ireland captain’s run at the Aviva Stadium on March 17, 2023 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

The opening year of his reign, amid the coronavirus pandemic, brought mixed results but his side have won 25 of 27 Tests dating back to round three of the 2021 Six Nations.

“I’m not surprised,” Farrell said of the progress. “If you’re talking four years ago then we probably didn’t know the total plan as in what we’ve been through and what we’re going through.

“The process has always been for the here and now, and the medium term, and the long term.

“A lot tend to go from cycle to cycle and chop a few and carry on.

“I think the right way, for me anyway, is to grow and develop competition as we go and then when we get to something like this (World Cup) watch and learn and let’s pick accordingly on what’s right on the team.”

Related

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

H
Hellhound 51 minutes ago
Scotland's Gregor Townsend confirms Tom Jordan Glasgow exit

NZ lost a great player there. Played brilliantly for Glasgow and against SA was the best player on the pitch. Caused the Boks some headaches. Slot him into the current AB's team, and they would be very dangerous, especially broken play.


However, the Scots isn't stupid and their recruiting from the SH countries is starting to pay off. They don't have the player pool the SH countries have, nor that of their neighbours even.


I applaud them for being so open-minded as giving those players who have loyally played their rugby in Scotland for years a chance. SA for one have such a vast pool of players that's so talented and could be world class given the smallest chance, but will never get a look in because there is just so many stars in the country.


I don't mind that Saffas play for other countries to further their own careers. Besides, it makes Scotland better and makes for one more team to step up to the big stage and make rugby more exciting than just the top 4 that usually wins.


Scotland may have lost by 17 against a rusty Bok "B" team, but that score is not a true indication of that match. The Scottish biggest mistakes was kicking at goal the entire time, instead of going for the jugular. If they tried to go for tries, they may have been stopped and the score might have been bigger, but the game was on such a knife edge, that if they did go for it, they might have scored a couple of tries or more and we very well might have seen a Scottish upset.


It was by no means a bad effort at all. Tom Jordan is one of their best new talents coming through. He should've stayed with Glasgow. What a loss for the URC Champs. Going to Loftus and getting one over the Bulls is something that not even the so called best team in club rugby could do. Leinster keeps losing at Loftus. For Glasgow to do that in a Final was phenomenal and Tom Jordan was no small part of that feat.


Rugby is truely becoming a global sport now, where the eligibility rules is making rugby a much smaller world, but a much bigger global game. The Scots is most likely the team with the most aliens in their team. They welcome players with open arms. I applaud that. They are a sleeping giant, and if they continue playing like they did against the Boks, despite the results, they will become a real threat for 2027.


I admired how they played. They impressed everyone. I say good on them. Results will come if they continue on their upward trajectory. I wish them and Tom Jordan all the luck they deserve.

6 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ England and their Chief problem England and their Chief problem
Search