Family fortunes Andy Farrell reveals how son Owen ruined his day
Andy Farrell says his preparations to take over from Joe Schmidt must not derail Ireland
While clearly proud of his boy, whose sublime start to this Guinness Six Nations has ended any lingering debate over his worthiness to be considered one of the best 10s in the world, that pride did not extend to Andy Farrell deriving any actual pleasure from son Owen’s performance for England in Dublin two weekends ago.
“Not at the time, no,” Farrell replies, gruffly, when asked whether he took at least some consolation from the fact it was his own flesh and blood orchestrating England’s finest performance in years. Then he smiles. “He’s done well and they [England] are in a good space, aren’t they? But, like I said before, there’s a long way to go in this tournament ...”
Farrell is generally on fine form. Relaxed, introspective, insightful. Speaking for the first time since it was confirmed last November he would take over from Joe Schmidt as Ireland’s head coach once the World Cup ends this autumn, the 43-year-old discusses cusses his delight at landing the main in job, says he now feels “100 per cent” that Ireland is his home, ome, and defends his former mer England boss Stuart Lancaster caster against accusations that t he lost the plot selection-wise, on-wise, perhaps increasing sing the likelihood he might extend an n invitation to the e now Leinster coach to join his s backroom team. m
Farrell speaks so well, in fact, that it is difficult lt to understand why y it has taken him until now to do so. The he
Irish Rugby Football otball Union has appeared inexplicably reluctant to let its former man of steel face the media over the past three months. Farrell was not put up either before or after the England game, despite the obvious public interest there would have been to hear his thoughts. Nor was he utilised before or after last weekend’s clash at Murrayfield.
There appeared to be some notion that it would have caused Ireland unnecessary aggravation, distraction even, Farrell having to discuss his future role when Ireland had a match on, although whether that was coming from the IRFU, Schmidt, or Farrell himself was unclear.
Either way, Ireland chose to sneak him out yesterday, in the fallow week, on a Friday, nine days before their next match in Rome, without properly confirming his presence in advance.
More’s the pity. Farrell can be a spiky character, but he is box office, a charismatic figure on and off the field. He says he had “absolutely no doubts whatsoever” about accepting the post, although he denies that had been his long-term goal when switching England for Ireland in 2016.
“I have always been cautious about the fact that I got a good job and you’ve got to be sure you are ready for these things. [But] I was coming to a stage where jobs were being offered in the head coach role and I had said no to quite a few. I didn’t want to get to a stage where I was going to look back in the future and have regrets. I would have 100 per cent regretted not taking this one. one.”
Farrell may have been made in Wigan, but with I Irish ancestry going back three o or four generations, he says the country “100 per cent” feels like ho home to him now. “W We love it here for so many rea reasons,” he adds. ““But just being over here as a family is special. The p people are so w welcoming and wa warm. It leads me to the thought process of why did my ancestors leave?”
Farrell is tight-lipped on who hem he might bring in to work alongside him. Skills coach Richie Murphy and forwards coach Simon Easterby are staying, but with Schmidt – who does much of the attack work – scrum coach Greg Feek going, and Farrell himself stepping up from defence coach, there will need to be a certain amount of reshuffling.
“Obviously, there’s planning that has to go on behind the scenes,” he says. “[But] I’m unbelievably conscious of making sure nothing gets in the way of the day job. Things are petering away, but there’s not too much wrong with the Irish set-up at this moment. There might be a bit of dropout along the way, but continuity is a good thing for us. What we do is working.”
Asked whether he would still oversee defence in his new role, he adds: “We’ll see. It’s all about gels
and fits. As things become clearer over the next couple of months, we’ll get to that.”
It really is likely to be a matter of months, too. With Lancaster’s contract at Leinster expiring at the end of the season, both he and the province are going to want some clarity. Farrell defended England’s former head coach against accusations he was incapable of making good selection decisions, adding they had both learnt a lot from their time with England.
“There’s all sorts of stuff that you review and Stuart’s spoken to you about that stuff,” he says, citing issues of selection and player access specifically. “But the squad was very young and I think Stuart mentioned last week, correct me if I’m wrong, their playing age, as far as internationals, is reaping the rewards and I wouldn’t disagree.”
Asked whether he can be a good “delegator” or whether he is too hands on, Farrell smiles: “We will see. I believe I am. I think you need a bit of humility. And I have got good people who can manage with that type of thing as well.”
Asked if he knew what he was getting himself into, he smiles. “Yeah of course. And I’m not afraid of that. I’m excited by that.”
Mostly, though, Farrell just wants to focus on the here and now. With their 22-13 win over Scotland last Saturday, last year’s Grand Slam champions have clawed their way back into contention for this Six Nations title and he says the feeling within the camp is very much that it is still within their grasp.
“Of course it is,” he says. “Wales have to go to Murrayfield and Scotland will be hurting after the defeat at home to us. England’s game with Wales is going to be mouthwatering. We’ve got a tricky game coming up against Italy and then I’m sure we’ll get a charged-up French side. There’s loads for us to deal with, first and foremost, and I’m sure everyone’s in the same boat.”