No Irish team has ever recovered and rebounded from an anti-climactic World Cup by winning the ensuing Six Nations. Nor could next Friday’s enactment of the World Cup final that never was against France in Marseille have provided a more daunting opening night. But if the Irish players have the same mindset as their head coach, there’ll be no World Cup hangover anyway.
Until his unveiling as the next Lions head coach in London the week before last, there had not been sight nor sound of Andy Farrell since the night New Zealand beat Ireland in Paris last October. He didn’t even attend World Rugby’s gala banquet the night after the final when Bundee Aki accepted Farrell’s award as coach of the year.
Whatever about him being clearly thrilled by his Lions appointment, it is not a case, Farrell maintained, of him being refreshed by an extended break from the game.
“I feel wonderful. I didn’t take any time off. Just because I didn’t turn up for the World Rugby awards... I knew nothing about it. How am I supposed to turn up? I had other things on. They told me that morning. What was I supposed to do?
“I’m feeling great, honestly. If you can’t get excited about what’s coming up, you shouldn’t be in this job. Honestly, the disappointment [of the World Cup] or all the work that went in, it’s so irrelevant. It’s called life, isn’t it? You get on, move on, try and evolve, and get excited about what’s next.”
As was the case prior to last season’s Grand Slam campaign, Farrell took a 34-man squad, plus Oli Jager and the Prendergast brothers Cian and Sam as additional players, to the Algarve last Wednesday for a week-long pre-Six Nations training camp.
Farrell named a 37-man squad a year ago but was influenced by the World Cup in trimming those numbers down, while also intimating that no one else really did enough to make a compelling case for a call-up.
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Portugal invariably does what it says on the tin, with temperatures in the high teens every day under clear blue skies. After a day off, the squad will resume training on Monday ahead of Farrell announcing the side to face France this coming Wednesday before they relocate to Marseille.
Farrell’s biggest selection issues appear to be in the secondrow and, in the absence of Mack Hansen, on the right wing. The head coach acknowledged “there will be a void” due to Johnny Sexton’s retirement, but having opted for a secure pair of hands in Peter O’Mahony as captain, stressed the belief that others will assume more responsibility.
As for the 10 jersey, with Ross Byrne also sidelined, it seems likely that Jack Crowley will start, with Ciarán Frawley’s versatility perhaps earning him a place on the bench ahead of Harry Byrne.
“Jack has been around for quite some time now and he’s seen how Johnny goes about his daily life,” said Farrell, noting the same is true for Frawley and the younger Byrne in learning from Sexton “as a leader, but more importantly for those guys as a world-class, once-in-a-generation type of player, a number 10 over the last four or five years”.
It is Farrell’s belief that the trio of young outhalves will have learned from Sexton and will be excited by the challenge of making it their position.
“We are going to get to find out about a lot of people’s characters and those three players in the next couple of weeks, that’s for sure.”
While shifting Garry Ringrose from midfield to the right wing slot in the absence of Hansen is an option, Farrell’s choice appears to rest between Calvin Nash and Jordan Larmour.
Typically, Farrell did not bemoan this enforced change, adding: “Something’s going to happen this week or next week in training. Have a look at the [opening] game last year, going to Wales and three or four players dropping out at the last minute. That’s what happens the whole time.
“So, I’m genuinely excited about who’s gonna fill that spot and see how they want to compete, because I have no doubt that Mack won’t want to give his place up. He’ll be nervous enough watching from the sidelines if somebody’s gonna take that chance or not. We hope as a team that somebody grabs that chance because it makes us fight harder with one another and that makes us get better and keep growing.”
