Into the belly of the beast
Andy Farrell’s Irish journey began in South Africa and eight years later, he returns for a potentially defining chapter of his coaching career
TALK about a baptism of fire. Andy Farrell was only in the door when Joe Schmidt’s Ireland touched down in South Africa ahead of a three-Test series in 2016. When Les Kiss left his longstanding role as defence coach to take up a director of rugby gig with Ulster, Schmidt didn’t have to look too far for a quality replacement.
Farrell was out of a job following England’s disastrous home World Cup. Senior players such as Johnny Sexton and Rory Best gave glowing references on the back of their experiences working with Farrell on the 2013 Lions tour of Australia.
So Farrell got the call. The first of the Fab Four to seek redemption across the Irish Sea, Stuart Lancaster, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt all eventually following.
Farrell’s contract officially began on April Fool’s Day but his first assignment was drilling an Ireland defence for a clash with the Springboks in Cape Town.
To call that tour daunting would have been an understatement. A raft of senior players, including Sexton and Rob Kearney, were ruled out with injuries. The national team had finished third in a rather uninspiring Six Nations. No province had made it to the quarter-final stage of the Champions Cup.
So, Ireland travelled to South Africa in hope rather than expectation.
The first Test was in Newlands. The magnificent old arena on the edge of Cape Town is a stunning setting, framed against the background of Table Mountain.
The match began on a positive note, Ireland edging into a 10-0 lead thanks to an early Jared Payne try, with Paddy Jackof son’s boot adding the extras.
But disaster soon struck: in the 23rd minute CJ Stander was sent off by referee Mathieu Raynal for a clumsy collision with South Africa out-half Patrick Lambie.
Ireland were looking at facing the Springboks for an hour with only 14 men on the field. Things got even worse when Robbie Henshaw was sin-binned 10 minutes later.
You’d love to know what Farrell was making of these developments in the coaches’ box.
Ireland went on to deliver one of the great rearguard efforts in international rugby, sealing a 26-20 win. A first ever victory on South African soil for good measure. The new defence coach was lauded in the days which followed.
Schmidt’s side went on to lose the Test series 2-1. Altitude was the difference in Johannesburg seven days later, while a mounting injury list took its toll in the decider in Port Elizabeth.
It was a hugely successful tour for Farrell, however. The players were on board from day one. And nothing has changed since.
When Ireland’s flight touches down at Oliver Tambo Airport in Johannesburg in early July, Farrell may wonder where the past eight years have gone.
He has progressed from defence coach to the front of house, succeeding Schmidt in 2019. He negotiated a rough first 24 months as head coach in the midst
the pandemic, remoulding Ireland into a global heavyweight again, buoyed by a new generation of young stars and a slick, more expansive attacking blueprint.
BOKS OFFICE
This tour is going to be a boxoffice blockbuster. The only shame is that it’s not a threeTest epic, but there were welfare concerns across the board on such a move, given it’s the end of a World Cup season.
Two Tests seemed about right in the circumstances.
The hosts are relishing the looming meetings in Pretoria and Durban. It’s no coincidence that the opening game is taking place in Loftus Versfeld either. Undoubtedly the most intimidating venue in the country, it was the setting for the infamous ‘Battle of Pretoria’ between the Lions and the Boks during that memorable second Test of the 2009 tour.
Crucially, the stadium is located at altitude. The rarefied air is something of a secret weapon for the hosts. In fact, the last thing the visiting team see on the way out of the tunnel is a sign stating: ‘Altitude. 1,350 metres. It matters.’
The gauntlet is well and truly going to be thrown down to Farrell’s side this summer. You get the sense that the locals are sick to death of hearing about Ireland’s supposed status as the best team in the world. No shortage of rival nations and former players were lining up to make such a point in recent months.
There was a telling line from Farrell in the post-match briefing with the Irish media following the titleclinching win against Scotland a few weeks ago when the subject of the looming tour came up.
‘All you want is an opportunity to put yourself out there against the best and South Africa are 100 per cent the best,’ the Ireland boss stated. Case closed. The Boks have all the receipts when it comes claiming elite status on the global stage. They are back-to-back world champions. They will be keen to make that point in the summer.
Farrell knows this as well. He will relish the challenge.
THEORY OF EVOLUTION
Ireland will arrive as back-to-back
Six Nations champions. A team which has displayed remarkable consistency, winning 19 home games in a row as well as 33 victories in 37 Tests stretching all the way back to 2021.
We wondered how this squad would pitch up in the spring after that crushingly disappointing World Cup quarter-final defeat by the All Blacks. The response in recent months was startling.
We wondered how this playing group would fare without Sexton, the spiritual leader, conductorin-chief and alpha male of the squad. Again, Ireland barely missed a beat in his considerable absence.
The likes of Joe McCarthy, Jack Crowley and Calvin Nash stepped up. Andrew Porter, Tadhg Beirne and Bundee Aki grew in stature.
The Twickenham loss aside, Ireland looked a class apart for the duration of the championship.
Yet the mood was a tad flat in the final rounds. You could sense it on Super Saturday.
Yes, Farrell’s Ireland remain a topclass outfit. But you feel this squad need to evolve again – beginning with the attack. Ireland were by far the most potent team with the ball in this edition of the Six Nations.
No team scored more tries (19), made more carries (685) for more metres (3,944), made more passes (1018) or more line breaks (36). Yet strangely, you could sense that rival nations were beginning to figure out Ireland’s intricate attacking system.
It was evident during that patchy third quarter against Wales, in Twickenham and for long swathes of the nervy win against he Scots on the final day.
Worryingly, all three teams all deployed the same tactics. England, in particular, got a lot of change out of attacking Ireland’s breakdown and blitzing the wide channels. When you consider that Ireland’s core strengths are lightning-quick ruck ball (ably facilitated by Jamison GibsonPark) and sharp passing in tight corridors, disrupting the supply lines makes sense. The big fear for Ireland is that the Boks can do the same demolition job, with vastly more firepower.
Andrew Goodman is joining the squad on tour. Leinster’s highly-rated attack coach will succeed the soon-to-be-departing Catt and the hope is that the Kiwi will bring some fresh ides and innovation to the party.
You’re going to hear a lot about set-piece as well.
The line-out remains an issue. Paul O’Connell has his work cut out because South Africa are world leaders in this area. They’ll fancy going after the visitors here. The memory of Ireland losing their first six line-outs in the World Cup pool meeting with the same opposition last year remains vivid. Farrell, his backroom team and players are all aware that they need to shake things up. The current plan got them over the line in the Six Nations. It won’t suffice in South Africa.
So we’re expecting some big tactical changes. There is going to be a shift in personnel, too.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Farrell is highly likely to appoint a new captain. All the noises in recent weeks suggest that Peter O’Mahony’s last dance was at the Aviva.
For the veteran Munster flanker, lifting the Six Nations title on the winners’ podium in front of a jubilant home crowd seemed like a good place to bow out.
His successor in the starting side is a no-brainer. Ryan Baird has been tearing up trees all season. It was would seem a bit odd to call a 24-year-old with 20 caps a late bloomer but Baird is a generational talent who has yet to fully reach his staggering potential. He has thrived under the guidance of Jacques Nienaber at Leinster this term. He is set to go head-to-head with Pieter-Steph du Toit, arguably the best blindside flanker on the planet. Watching those two rumble will be worth the admission price alone.
O’Mahony’s successor as captain is not so straightforward. James Ryan and Garry Ringrose were early contenders. The former lost his place in the team and the latter was stuck down with injury. Neither
are guaranteed a starting spot, given the form of their competitors.
Caelan Doris is another strong candidate but his form in the late stages of the tournament was far from his best work. Perhaps the captaincy might give him the extra jolt he needs, or maybe Farrell might back Beirne, who has settled well into the Munster captaincy, to lead Ireland in the summer.
Farrell will want to blood some fresh talent as well. There won’t be too much scope for experimentation across an uber-intense fortnight of international action. Tom Ahern, Munster’s all-action hybrid lock-cum-flanker, deserves a call. He could be the Toner-esque lineout forward Ireland sorely need in the years ahead.
Dave McCann is another one to watch. The Ulster blindside was in stirring form in the early months of the season before a promising campaign was derailed by an ankle injury. A strong finish on the URC beat and McCann might be packing his bags for the Highveld.
Farrell is likely to lean on the same frontrow forwards but it wouldn’t be a surprise if a couple of rookie looseheads were included to learn the ropes. Jack Boyle and/ or Paddy McCarthy, two Leinster looseheads with big futures, could make the flight.
Joe McCarthy won’t get a fiercer opponent than Eben Etzebeth to hasten his international education.
In terms of the half-backs, Gibson-Park and Crowley are the frontline picks but will Farrell be tempted to give Craig Casey or Harry Byrne a crack at the Boks?
As for the Antoine Frisch situation, Farrell doesn’t strike us a coach who engages in politics. The Munster centre may have made his bed by accepting an invitation to train with the French national team recently. Leinster midfielder Jamie Osborne or Connacht’s talented young centre Cathal Forde could move ahead in that pecking order.
At least Farrell can look forward to having Mack Hansen and Jimmy O’Brien back in the selection mix. Both are on schedule to return to action in the coming months after the pair of wings missed out on the Six Nations. Hansen’s creative flair was sorely missed. Indeed, he might even get an outing at fullback on tour.
As ever, Farrell will look to balance securing a galvanising series win with exploring the depth chart. He worked miracles on the 2022 tour of New Zealand. He needs to do the same in South Africa.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
And what about the Boks? The vast majority of the 2023 World Cup-winning crew will be board for Ireland’s visit.
In terms of squad selection, Rassie Erasmus is set to lean on some of the older heads for the Ireland series before he begins to rebuild his squad ahead of the 2027 World Cup. The entire forward pack which started the World Cup final against New Zealand was over 30. Only Duane Vermeulen has hung up his boots since. A few of the old guard are on borrowed time, clearly.
‘We’ll probably use some of those old ox (against Ireland)… and then we’ve gradually got a system where we think, okay, this papa is gonna say goodbye now and do family stuff, and this guy is probably going to do x, y, and z,’ Erasmus said recently.
He has also made some fascinating changes to his coaching team. Felix Jones and Nienaber have left their posts. And the Springboks supremo has brought in former Munster and Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery to run the defence.
He has also appointed Tony Brown as attack coach. The New Zealander was at the helm of that brilliant Japan side that downed Ireland and Scotland in the 2019 World Cup. Brown, once a target of Leinster, is one of the most highly-regarded innovators in the game and it will be fascinating to see what he brings to this South Africa set-up.
Indeed, Erasmus has also said he wants to ‘rectify’ his country’s recent record against the Irish, a three-game losing record which stretches all the way back to the 2016 series.
This certainly won’t be a series for the faint-hearted. Neither camp would have it any other way.