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Andy Farrell on why this Ireland loss 'hurts a little more'
By Ned Lester
Andy Farrell has identified a “sharpness” issue in his Ireland side’s loss to the All Blacks at Chicago’s Soldier Field after being run off the park in the final quarter of the Test.
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The coach was sure to split his time in the postgame press conference between the positives and negatives of a performance that saw his side lead for the majority of proceedings, before conceding three unanswered tries and another on fulltime that was scrubbed due to a forward pass.
But in a Test billed as ‘The Rematch’ after Ireland’s famous 2016 upset, where they downed the All Blacks for the first time in their rugby history, the loss had left the coach with an extra dash of disappointment.
Ireland were guilty of conceding 15 turnovers in the match, winning less than 70 per cent of their lineout ball, and managed just half of New Zealand’s post-contact metres.
“Well, obviously, it’s disappointing to lose any game,” Farrell started, post-match. “When you play a top-tier side, and a world-class side like New Zealand, you always want to judge yourself against that type of opposition. And then you put the occasion and all of that together, and it hurts a little bit more.
“Understanding why that happened is obviously key for us now and addressing all of that and making sure that we move forward pretty quickly for what is a pretty important Autumn.”
Indeed, with the Rugby World Cup draw set to take place following the current Test window, world ranking points are as sought after as ever, and Ireland’s schedule doesn’t offer much reprieve with Japan, Australia and South Africa all on the hit list.
When assessing the issues that need to be resolved before next week’s date with the Brave Blossoms, Farrell pinpointed some shortcomings related to the mental side of the game.
“You subconsciously suppress yourself a little bit when things don’t start going your way, and I’m talking two tries, and the game goes away from us a little bit.
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“One hundred per cent, we were slower off the floor, and that’s not right. I thought our fitness was pretty good.
“It’s what we talked about before the game, it’s mental switch off, mental sharpness, lapses in concentration for two or three seconds, and you get hurt.
“I thought we managed the red card, and the subs who were coming on with fresh legs; I didn’t think it was a fitness problem, it was a sharpness to our game that was the issue.”
Turning his attention to the positives, Farrell appeared impressed by Jack Crowley‘s showing as Ireland’s game-driver.
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“I thought we managed the game tactically pretty well. I thought our kicking game struck territory, getting us in the right parts of the field. Although some of our kicks were off, the manner of them was the right thing to do. I thought we’d given ourselves a bit of territory, but it’s all about converting. It’s all about putting points on the board.
“I thought the start of the second half was pretty good, but when you drop a good line, drop a ball, and all of a sudden the ball’s in behind you and you get a turnover and a kick to the corner, that’s the game. That’s how quickly the game can turn on you.
“You can defend really well at times in your own 22, but if you get an infringement in the lineout and you go again, then you need to back that up, but we missed the tackle. All of a sudden, you’re two tries down, and it’s not going to be good enough against a side like that.”
