Schmidt denies Farrell's Connect 4 victory a bad omen for Ireland

It is not unusual to see mind games ahead of major sporting contests, but Rory Best and Owen Farrell took the term literally on Wednesday as they played Connect 4 at the Six Nations launch in London.

The respective captains of Ireland and England, who have also played together for the British and Irish Lions, certainly appeared to enjoy themselves as they put their strategic disc-dropping skills to the test.

Farrell was the apparent victor, with Irish Rugby’s official Twitter feed then sharing some amusing post-match ‘analysis’ from Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt.

Asked if Farrell’s success represented a bad omen for Ireland, a grinning Schmidt said: “Not really – I think it’s trying to offer them a little bit of false confidence.

“Rory, as a Connect 4 player, I think he’s got real potential. He’s part of a front row of three, so he would have been struggling on that fourth one.”

Connect 4.@RoryBest2 v @owen_faz in an epic game.
Post-match analysis from Joe Schmidt.#GuinnessSixNations #TeamOfUs #Connect4 pic.twitter.com/VKOlG4UFBa

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) January 23, 2019

I now make England favourites in Dublin. Far off look in Best’s eyes, steely focus in Farrell’s. The fly-half has a nice pivot going on there, with a grounded disk in the corner for diagonals. He’s sucked Best in with a fake dog-leg. Alex Sanderson effect. pic.twitter.com/Z98tOVeWV9

— Alex Shaw (@alexshawsport) January 23, 2019

Ireland did, of course, manage a run of five in a row during last year’s Six Nations as they completed a Grand Slam.

They host England in a mouth-watering opening-round contest next weekend, when a battle of far greater intensity than Wednesday’s fun and games can be anticipated.