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Andy Farrell confronts Ireland decline chat with brutal honesty
By PA
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell is braced for a “hell of a Test match” ahead of another showdown with Joe Schmidt’s Australia.
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Farrell led the British and Irish Lions to a 2-1 series success over the Wallabies in the summer.
His final match in charge of Ireland before his Lions secondment was a narrow 22-19 win over Australia last November.
The Wallabies, who suffered a shock 26-19 defeat to Italy at the weekend, are due in Dublin on Saturday evening, as Farrell and former Ireland boss Schmidt prepare to go head to head once again.
“We all know about Australia, what they’ll be thinking about coming to the Aviva (Stadium), there is obviously a big game for Joe, and it certainly will be for us at the same time,” said Farrell.
“Everyone knows the threats they’ve got, as far as the pace and athleticism in the backline, but the threat is up front, as well.
“The way they go about their business up front is obviously a part of their game that got better throughout the (Lions) series. It’ll be a hell of a Test match.”
Ireland responded to a 26-13 defeat to New Zealand in Chicago by beating Japan 41-10 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Yet, despite the final margin of victory, the much-changed hosts were far from convincing.
Amid talk his team are in decline, Farrell played down concerns about a potential lack of confidence in the squad.
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“Well, that’s our responsibility to make sure that that’s not the case, if it is we will address that,” he said.
“You can have all sorts of excuses, can’t you, with start of the season and travel, jet lag, all that. But not really, it shouldn’t matter.
“Anytime you play for Ireland, it should be a formal Test match where you go out there with proper intention from the start and play your game.
“We need to get over ourselves (stop feeling sorry for ourselves) and get on with the big boy stuff.”
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