FARRELL’S INSIDE JOB
ANDY FARRELL has given Ireland the inside track on what it takes to beat England. The father of England playmaker Owen has been Ireland’s defence coach since losing his job in the Red Rose set-up when Australian Eddie Jones took charge. But due to contractual restrictions this is his first game against England and the Irish are pinning much hope on his inside knowledge.
Ireland captain Rory Best said: “Faz has shown us where they’re going to attack us, where we’re going to be better and where we can stop them.”
And forwards coach Simon Easterby added: “He understands their psyche and offers some insight obviously with his familiarity with a lot of individual players.”
Ireland insist their motivation is not to stop England achieving another Grand Slam, but to defend their “very proud” home record.
“We have focused on how to beat England,” said Best. “But we haven’t focused on the reasons why we will beat them.
“We’ll beat England because we’re pulling on a green jersey, because we’re at home and we expect probably a better, more consistent performance over the 80 minutes than we’ve delivered so far in this championship.
“If we’re motivated by trying to stop other teams, that’s not the Ireland team that has set the standards and is currently sitting where we are in the world rankings.”