IRFU to hold crunch talks with Andy Farrell as Saracens table huge sum

Ireland bosses are set to meet with Andy Farrell’s representatives as they look to hold off a £1 million a year bid from his former club, Saracens, to take him back to North London after next year’s World Cup.

IRFU Performance Director David Humphreys is set for a meeting this week as he tries to discover Farrell’s plans beyond the 2027 Rugby World Cup in France.

The IRFU are keen to offer Farrell, who led the Lions to success in Australia last summer, an extension to his deal, but cannot match the offer on the table from the Gallagher PREM outfit.

Saracens want Farrell to be the long-term successor to Mark McCall, who stands down at the end of the season and will be replaced by their technical adviser.

Brendan Venter, but it’s likely he is only keeping the seat warm for Farrell.

Farrell ended his career with the North London club after switching codes from Super League giants Wigan Warriors in March 2005, before becoming a skills coach and then a first-team coach.

Farrell has admitted that he is loving life in Ireland but has always stopped short of committing to his future, which has perhaps encouraged Sarries to offer him a job after the World Cup.

He was pretty non-committal about his future plans when speaking to the Irish Independent this week, saying he was just focusing on doing the best job he could do for Ireland.

“I’m contracted till after the World Cup, that’s 21 months or whatever. It’s a long time. Again, I love doing what I do. It’s not just me with decisions like that. But for now, the only thing on my mind is doing as good a job as I possibly can.”

He could link up with his son, the England and Lions fly-half Owen, who has been tipped to join the Saracens staff when his two-year deal runs out at the end of next season.