'We did an unbelievable amount of outstanding things under Joe... I'd be absolutely foolish not to harness those bits'
Andy Farrell cast quite a shadow at Wednesday’s Six Nations tournament launch in London. Lined up alongside his rival coaches, he was left looking down on them all.
Same with the imposing way he filled the same top-table chair his contemporaries had each taken their turn occupying at the east-end Tobacco Dock.
Without doubt, his domineering frame stands out a mile when keeping company. But the pressing question is can he quickly catch the eye for his unproven head coaching ability?
As large a presence as he has when filling a room, the shoes he is stepping into in Ireland remain enormous. Joe Schmidt’s legacy might not be dating well if a recent caustic remark by someone close to a squad member to RugbyPass is a barometer of the general feeling that exists.
The New Zealander lost his way in 2019, for sure, and the supposedly increasingly restrictive way he ran the squad didn’t reflect well, the flat mood in the camp feeling like a glass of champagne that had lost its fizz.
(Continue reading below…)
The 2020 Six Nations launch in London
However, Schmidt’s numbers overall during his six-year tenure stacked up impressively – 76 outings, 55 wins, a win ratio of 73 per cent. Farrell was no mug in this department, being along for 41 of Schmidt’s matches and emerging as a winner on 30 occasions (a similar win ratio of 73 per cent).
The trick now, though, is to forcibly emerge from the shadow of Schmidt, to put his stamp on the overall operation rather than be constrained to a defence coaching remit where Ireland conceded 148 tries on his watch – on average 3.6 per game.
Shutting the door tightly is now Simon Easterby’s particular remit, with Farrell now tasked with looking after the sum of all parts and not the one part of the overall sum. His baby steps, though, will be taken with the recent past still very fresh in the mind.
??????????????????????
Four new captains ?
Four new coaches ?
Six Nations ?
…and lots of media ?– @heagneyl takes us behind the scenes at the @SixNationsRugby launch in London ? #GuinnessSixNationshttps://t.co/JTnacLMshc
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 22, 2020
“We did an unbelievable amount of outstanding things under Joe Schmidt and I’d be absolutely foolish not to harness those bits,” he said on Wednesday in response to a RugbyPass query on what sort of style he will look to embed now that he running the whole shooting match.
“Now, do I have an idea of where I want to take a few little bits of the game under Joe and make them how I want to make them? Of course I do and we will see how we progress with that along the way.”
This warm-weather week training in Portugal then will be critically important in Farrell putting his own spin on things. Three and a half years operating as Schmidt’s sidekick must give way to an air of authority and a belief among the Ireland squad that they can potentially achieve great things under their new boss man.
“Progressing our game, winning – it matters, we won’t shy away from that"#GuinnessSixNations https://t.co/SNQTtkI3LD
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 22, 2020
Farrell may have a contract penned through to the 2023 World Cup, but progress must be witnessed in the next year and a half to ensure he doesn’t become a rugby version of football’s David Moyes, who struggled when taking up the mantle at Manchester United after Alex Ferguson called time on his stellar stint in charge.
The Englishman knows all about the bottom line. “Winning: it matters. We won’t shy away from that,” he admitted, but how he goes about trying to achieve this is of immense importance. He quickly needs to make this a distinctly Farrell operation, not something inherited from Schmidt.
“It’s an all-round game,” he replied when quizzed on what certain aspects must improve if his Ireland are to regain the ground and the reputation lost in 2019 in Schmidt’s final year. “Look, the fundamentals of the game never change. That has got to be at a premium and those fundamentals need to keep developing.
'His unchallenged message is that his squad is dynamic, powerful and aggressive with a lot of skill and speed, a nice soundbite if rah-rah soundbites are your thing twelve-and-a-half weeks on from World Cup crucifixion by the All Blacks,' writes @heagneyl
https://t.co/Uay1ksl7gW— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 16, 2020
“You can’t win any rugby game without a good set-piece or without a good defence or without good game understanding, so those aspects of the game need to keep on developing as well. Hmm, attack is always a difficult process because it takes a little bit longer but we want to improve that along the way. It might take a little bit of time but we will get there. We WILL get there.
“So at the same time we want to keep developing but the key is to make sure that we don’t get too ahead of ourselves, that we don’t stand for something. That is key for us, you know what I mean?
“Making sure that we come out of each particular game and stand for what we said we were going to stand for in the days before that. I suppose every coach that comes in would like to put their own stamp on the game, but without getting too ahead of ourselves.”
Having only had the players in previously for a 24-hour pow-wow in the lead-up to Christmas, having them at his beck and call for a week in the Portuguese sun before they fly back to Dublin for the February 1 opener versus the Scots is most important. The time is nigh for Farrell to cast his large shadow on proceedings.
WATCH: Andy Goode and Brendan Venter didn’t hold back on this week’s The Rugby Pod as they discussed Saracens and the salary cap scandal
Comments on RugbyPass
This just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
16 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
16 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
16 Go to comments