The 'love it in Ireland' reason why Farrell has no England interest
Andy Farrell is loving life in Ireland and has no interest in chasing a coaching role back in England as he seeks to clinch Grand Slam glory against his native country. The 47-year-old crossed the Irish Sea to become Joe Schmidt’s defence coach in 2016 in the aftermath of departing a similar role with England following the arrival of Eddie Jones.
He has emphatically enhanced his coaching reputation in Dublin, guiding Ireland to a stunning series win over New Zealand, the top of the global rankings and the brink of a Guinness Six Nations clean sweep since replacing Schmidt as head coach after the 2019 World Cup.
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said on the back of last summer’s historic tour success in New Zealand that Farrell was “very highly regarded” amid a recruitment drive to identify Jones’ successor as England boss.
Farrell subsequently extended his Ireland contract to 2025 and has no regrets about leaving his homeland, while feeling forever grateful for the sacrifices made by his uprooted family. “When you make a decision, you commit and that’s it,” he said. “And, you know, I’m very lucky that it wasn’t just me that was committing, it was my wife and kids as well.
“Because whether you think it’s a close flight or connected or whatever to the UK, it’s still living abroad. It is a big move, you know, kids out of school.
“It was a commitment from the family. And the more I look back on that I’m forever grateful for them showing me that commitment, you know, because it was just because of me, wasn’t it? We upped sticks and the kids went away from their friends et cetera, and that type of commitment is something that I’ll never forget from my family.”
Asked if he had felt the urge to pursue a job at home, he replied: “No, why would we? We love it here. We’re loving life here and the rugby’s pretty good as well.”
Farrell is poised to face a host of familiar faces at a sold-out Aviva Stadium on St Patrick’s weekend. His son, Owen Farrell, will skipper an England side coached by his former Saracens co-captain and international teammate Steve Borthwick.
Farrell has backed Borthwick to eventually get England firing following a difficult start which has brought Calcutta Cup disappointment against Scotland and a drubbing by France. “Obviously, we are very aware of each other’s traits,” Farrell said of Borthwick, who was a fellow coach on the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
“He is an outstanding coach. When I worked with him on the Lions, I mean, the proof is in the pudding isn’t it really? Ask the players, they’re the people that matter and to a man, everyone was raving coming back from the Lions tour.
“Steve doesn’t rest on his laurels either. He will be enjoying this challenge as well, to make sure he gets better as a coach, and there is no doubt about it that he’ll get it right with England.”
Farrell junior is back in England’s number 10 jersey after being dropped for the France game and will go head to head with veteran Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton, who is preparing for his final Six Nations game before retiring after the autumn World Cup.
“I think Owen and Johnny are pretty similar as far as the drive and the fight and the want,” said Farrell. “Both are super competitors and they’ll make sure that their team is of the same mindset as well. That’s why I said England are going to be extremely dangerous this weekend because of a mentality like that.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments