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Real deal Farrell and the prop that 'never looked like budging'

By Liam Heagney
Finlay Bealham (third right in post-game conversation with Conor Murray (Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Andy Farrell has certainly become the real deal as the Ireland head coach in recent times. Whereas initially he was shackled by the inheritance of the Joe Schmidt era, that conservatism is very much a thing of the past and he has very much become his own boss man.

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Fifteen wins in the last 17 matches is quite the smash hit record compared to his early teething difficulties, the winning of just six of eleven matches, a run that culminated in the back-to-back February 2021 defeats to Wales and France which left Ireland enduring their worst start to a Six Nations campaign since the old Five Nations was back in 1998.

Add in the bluntness of the attack under the baton of Mike Catt and the portents were grim. Fast forward 21 months, though, and all has utterly changed. Irish creativity is flourishing, a fresh style of play has evolved, players are performing like they definitely having fun, and the Aviva Stadium is again packed to the rafters after the bleakness of closed doors pandemic.

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The good times are certainly rolling for Ireland and an unexpected upside is that Farrell is now also talking a very good game. Previously, he was a hard listen, his observations usually being trite and limited and doing little to promote what his Ireland were about.

Winning, though, has bred a steely confidence where the insight is far more illuminating and his ‘lovely fella’ personality is finally starting to shine through. It may have taken six years to publicly emerge, given that it was 2016 when he first went on the IRFU payroll, but better late than never.

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The way Farrell now excitedly talks about his Ireland team is infectious. Take Saturday night in Dublin with the Springboks the latest victim on the Irish cull list. Resilience, guts and character were three pique-the-interest words used within seconds of Farrell beginning his reflections on an inspired performance that consolidated Ireland’s current world No1 ranking. Culture, attitude and unbelievably proud were other descriptions to soon follow in the same opening answer.

He’s right – this is indeed an XV to be giddy about. Just don’t ask him about the World Cup and the quarter-final glass ceiling that everyone will now expect Farrell’s Ireland team to shatter. “We’re not going to get into that, we’re miles off it,” he dismissively uttered when quizzed on the prospect of meeting the Springboks in ten months’ time in their pivotal pool match in Paris.

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Too right. There are more pressing concerns before then with two further games to be played in this Autumn Nations Series followed by the 2023 Guinness Six Nations. What can be talked about more willingly is the Irish depth situation.

You still have to be concerned regarding what is behind talisman Johnny Sexton. Joey Carbery was restricted to a two-minute cameo on Saturday that mainly involved booting the ball into the stands to signal full-time, while Ciaran Frawley had a Friday night to forget in the No10 shirt with the filleted Ireland As.

More encouragingly, though, there were lesser-known names outside of the usual high-performing suspects who vaulted into the limelight versus the Springboks. Look at Finlay Bealham, someone who had a start to forget two years ago against Georgia but who now has involvement in a series win over the All Blacks and a victory over South Africa to savour.

“Finlay coming on, he has grown in confidence every single time he takes the field at international level,” enthused Farrell about Saturday’s half-time replacement for the jarred ankle Tadhg Furlong. “I thought his scrum was excellent. He was dynamic, nice and low and never looked like budging. We are delighted for him. He has grown in confidence week by week.”

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And what about the excellent 27 minutes played by the unfortunately injured Stuart McCloskey, a player shelved by Schmidt only for Farrell to have a soft spot for him? “He was doing really well, he was being himself, he was strong, he was getting us over the gain line, he was calm because his character is that way as well.

“He was having a great game up until that point,” beamed the coach about the midfielder who was only promoted to the starting XV on Friday when Robbie Henshaw went lame but he went on to play like he was a Test veteran. Add in now rookie Jimmy O’Brien went so smoothly off the bench – it was certainly a prosperous fact-finding mission.

And yet, the show won’t stop there. Not with the likes of the ‘dead leg’ Sexton cajoling Farrell and aiming for even better and better judging by the skipper’s criticism of some of his Ireland team’s play against the South Africans.

“Just some of the execution – they rush and pressure you when you have got the ball and it’s about staying calm and getting the ball into the space and a couple of passes didn’t go to hand. Things like that are where we can be better…”

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J
Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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