Ireland coach is like ‘Saint Jack’
WARD: COMPARES FARRELL TO FORMER FOOTBALL GREAT
Andy Farrell has raised Irish rugby’s profile in the same way fellow Englishman Jack Charlton did for Irish football, based on a concoction of grittiness, humility and panache, according to former Ireland flyhalf Tony Ward.
That first quality carried the Irish to a 17-13 victory over Scotland on Saturday to retain the Six Nations title and emulate Farrell’s predecessor Joe Schmidt’s side of 2014/15.
Farrell bids a temporary farewell to the Six Nations – he is British and Irish Lions head coach for the 2025 tour of Australia – on the back of a Triple Crown in 2022, the Grand Slam in 2023 and the title in this edition.
Ward was among those who doubted Farrell’s suitability as head coach after a series of disappointing performances early into his tenure after taking over following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
He gleefully concedes he was wrong and sees 48-year-old Farrell as being as much a guiding light for rugby in Ireland as Charlton was for the Irish football team.
The 1966 World Cup-winning centre back earned the nickname “Saint Jack” as he guided the Irish to the 1990 World Cup quarterfinals. losing to hosts Italy, and to the last-16 in 1994.
“People go on about Jack Charlton and what he did for Irish football,” Ward, who won 19 caps for Ireland, told AFP.
“They were not great to watch but he delivered results and raised interest in the game.
“Farrell has been Charlton, but with style and panache and the greatest rugby coach we have had.”
Ward, though, says what is wonderful about Farrell is his “humility in victory and defeat”.
“There is an air of decency about him that feeds through and every player buys into the system.”
Ward says it is no coincidence under the more relaxed Farrell there is a freedom to Ireland’s play and less fear of the repercussions of making mistakes than under the disciplinarian Schmidt.
“Andy takes a different approach to previous management that I’ve worked under, which I think is the right way to do it,” explained Ireland’s then-captain Johnny Sexton as to what had changed under Farrell after the Irish won the Triple Crown in 2022. –