We can learn from rugby
Republic big admirers of Farrell’s winning formula
COME Saturday night, in a quiet corner of an Algarve hotel, the Boys In Green will be cheering on… the Boys In Green.
The former will be praying their lingering Euro 2024 hopes are intact after facing Greece by the time Ireland engage with the All-Blacks for a place in the last four of rugby’s World Cup.
Just as Roy Keane tapped into the New Zealand psyche when Sunderland boss in 2008, so Irish assistant manager, Keith Andrews, has scrummed down with Andy Farrell and his players to improve himself.
And Andrews insisted there was not the slightest pang of envy at the success being enjoyed by the ‘phenomenal’ Farrell and his squad.
‘I don’t think it’s envy. It’s just admiration for what they are doing, how they do it, the spirit they have.
‘Their preparations, they’ve got phenomenal people involved so when it comes to rugby I’m just a fan,’ said Andrews, who was given access by Farrell and the IRFU prior to the Six Nations earlier this year.
‘I have been in with them behind the scenes, team meetings, see what they do, and take little snippets.
Andrews was most impressed with Farrell.
‘He’s brilliant. Outstanding as a man the way he carries himself and the staff he has around him, all the different coaching departments, sports science.
‘Everybody was again very inclusive in terms of how they invited me into their environment. I was very, very impressed and very appreciative of them.’
Andrews, 43, is still learning the trade and has been eager to tap into what makes the Irish rugby team so successful.
‘International football is what you make of it as a coach, as a management team.
‘You are constantly trying to develop in between camps whether that’s club visits, going to study different systems, or watching our players.
‘But going to different environments and cherry picking little nuggets where you think they can transfer into your environment and your dressing room is important.’
On a broader level, Andrews doffs a hat to the way the IRFU have overseen growth in the game, in terms of players, profile and popularity.
There is no shortage of blue-chip sponsors chasing the IRFU. As for the FAI, they have no sponsor for the men’s team, almost four years since
Three gave notice they were hanging up.
‘I’ve spent time with the IRFU and what they have done in terms of development of the provinces and schools is very impressive.
‘I think it’s probably hard to copy and paste, but there are elements of it that we can learn from and study.
‘What the rugby has produced over a sustained period of time and with the provinces in particular is very impressive,’ said Andrews.
The Irish squad will be checked into their Algarve base, where they play Gibraltar on Monday, in good time for the mega showdown with New Zealand.
Safe to say, there won’t be a late-night run on the dunes arranged for the players at 8pm.
‘They won’t need me to be putting the game on. They will be watching it themselves. That’s the plan,’ said Andrews.
The ‘plan’ for Ireland on Friday is to avenge a score with Greece after the anguish of Athens in June when fourth seeds in Group B saw off the third seeds — the 2-1 defeat flattered Ireland.
‘We weren’t happy with our performance against Greece,’ said Andrews.
What made the limp effort all the more difficult to comprehend was how it followed a rigorous preparation to the game which involved a training camp in Bristol and another in Turkey.
Andrews felt the sixweek gap between the end of the English League season and the June window contributed to the lack of edge but it may not have been the only reason.
‘The mentality maybe wasn’t the same level as against the Dutch and the French for whatever reason, I don’t know. That’s something we have to put right, but we can’t rewind the clock.’
One player looking forward is Evan Ferguson, the Brighton ace who Planet Football this week hailed as the most valuable teenager in the Premier League.
A shock withdrawal last month, Ferguson stressed yesterday he was fully fit after a knee issue. ‘I feel like I’m alright and I’m ready to start so it should be all good,’ he said.
He has all the tools to prise open the Greeks and add to his two international goals.
ON coping with the hype around him, he said: ‘You see stuff and it all is just media talk. You have to try to concentrate on what you can control.’