Pressure does not faze Farrell after Ireland’s poor start to Six Nations
Andy Farrell insists he is unfazed by pressure following Ireland's dismal start to the Guinness Six Nations.
The Irish are almost certainly playing only for pride in their remaining three games after losing their opening two Six Nations fixtures for the first time.
Ireland finished third in the Championship last year, a performance which was described as an "average return" by Irish Rugby Football Union performance director David Nucifora. Defeats to Wales and France mean it is already a tall order to replicate that moderate achievement, yet head coach Farrell is not perturbed by the increased scrutiny on his position.
"I've dealt with it all my life. You either embrace the pressure or you get buried by it," said the 45-year-old, who succeeded Joe Schmidt after the 2019 World Cup. "I enjoy it, it makes you feel alive. You know that when you are taking the gig on. I believe if you've not got pressure in your life, it's not living anyway, so it goes with the territory, I suppose."
LTA is "cautiously optimistic" that spectators will be able to attend its summer tournaments this year, after the schedule was announced.
The grass-court season was cancelled in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic, meaning
Wimbledon was not staged for the first time since the Second World War.
But the tournament will return this summer along with traditional warm-up events at Queen's, Birmingham, Eastbourne and Nottingham over a six-week period in June and July.
The grand slam in London is the showpiece event of the grass-court season and will take place from June 28 to July 11, with organisers saying last week they were preparing for it to go ahead in front of a reduced capacity. The cinch Championships at Queen's, a men's event, and the Birmingham Classic, a women's tournament, will start on June 12 with a combined tournament in Eastbourne beginning on June 19.
The schedule below the main tour has been reined back for this year because of increased costs and logistical issues. Tournaments will not take place in Surbiton, Manchester or Ilkley, with the latter event moved to Nottingham to make two weeks of competition in the city for lower-ranked players.
The governing body has confirmed all events will go ahead behind closed doors if Covthe id-19 means it is not possible to admit spectators.
LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said: “Our hope right now is we will have some level of spectator attendance at all our events. We know how much fans want to come back and the sport isn't the same without them, so we are planning for their return and hoping circumstances will make that possible.”