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International

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

By Neil Fissler

45 days ago

British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell celebrates his team's victory over Australia after the second rugby Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 26, 2025. (Photo by Martin KEEP / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE (Photo by MARTIN KEEP/AFP via Getty Images)

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.

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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.

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Comments

51 Comments

Hammer Head 44 days ago

Good ol Turdlaugh

Ed the Duck 44 days ago

Yeah but he doesn’t even follow through with it! No surprise really I guess…

Hammer Head 44 days ago

As if getting blocked by him is a bad thing!

Padraig 45 days ago

World Cup performer will dictate any decision

John Breslin 45 days ago

Nobody in the Irish setup should get paid until we win a knockout

Delayed wages

Hammer Head 45 days ago

Bye bye Andy!

TheNotoriousFig 45 days ago

First thought, that is an absurd salary.

Second thought on reflection, Saracens can afford a £1m head coach because their ownership, commercial stability, and salary-cap economics matter far more than prize money or other variables, and the cost of not investing is materially higher than the cost of investing.

John Breslin 45 days ago

Yeah.

I see it as £1 million a year less 50% tax for working 38-40 weeks of the year

€650k a year (supposedly) less 40% tax for working 12 weeks of the year.

If he stays in Dublin, he could legitimately do a tour of the Guinness factory every day of every week for 40 weeks of the year. Finish with a sip each time. That would truly be winning

unknown 45 days ago

Farrell has done a great job in Ireland but there is a danger if you stay in one role too long that things become stale. It happened with Wales and Gatland, England and Jones, and is sort of happening with Scotland and Townsend. Maybe it’s best to leave while the relationship is good and be fondly remembered

PE 45 days ago

Warren Gatland was far from stale when he left. Right up to his last season, Wales were very competitive and he was a shoo in for his 3rd stint as Lions coach. If anything, he could have been accused of being too successful which masked the issues at regional and youths level. The development of players in Wales and Ireland do not come under the remit of the head coach and in that regard Ireland have been managing their development pathways much better than Wales did during their time at the top of European Rugby. If Farrell stays or goes, Irish Rugby does not have a Wales style collapse in the tea leaves as far as this amateur “expert” is concerned.

SB 45 days ago

Father and son coaching team one day.

PMcD 45 days ago

McCall has been the glue that held Sarries together and will be a massive loss, so Andy & Owen stepping into the coaching role would likely be a very good combination that keeps the club on the cutting edge and holds the connections with the fans.

Theres no guarantee a coach will work but the Farrell’s at Saracens together is the closest thing to a sure bet you will see and mid term will be sensible money to offset the risk of complete turmoil (like other clubs have seen).

John Breslin 45 days ago

Faz - big fella, please stay

Go to London and coach with one son or stay in the Dub and develop the other son into the saviour of Irish rugby?

You know what makes sense

Hammer Head 45 days ago

Makes sense to go back to England for a million quid!

As opposed to IRFU matching that (or near to it) to stay in Ireland and depleting the cash reserves of a small island rugby nation?

The right thing for Faz to do, in fact, is to leave immediately making way and space for a committed Irish coach not easily lured away for a million big ones.

ROG would be cheaper anyway. As would many other even better coaches on the market.

Ed the Duck 45 days ago

Gone in 60 seconds!!!

Faz ‘he does what he wants, he does what he wants’ 🤑🤑🤑

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