FARRELL ACCEPTS IRISH ROLE

ANDY FARRELL could come back to haunt England after agreeing to become Ireland’s new defence coach. The 40-year-old, along with fellow coaches Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt, left the England set-up after meeting with new head coach Eddie Jones three weeks ago. Now Farrell will follow the Six Nations with close interest prior to taking up his new job with Ireland ahead of their summer tour to South Africa. Ireland’s acquisition of the cross-code international — a prominent figure in the Lions’ series success in Australia in 2013 — is seen as a coup by head coach Joe Schmidt. Farrell’s contract will run until the end of the 2019 World Cup and Schmidt said: ‘The breadth of Andy’s experience as well as the positive impact he had when coaching a number of our senior players during the 2013 Lions tour will add real value for us.’ But Farrell will now find himself on a collision course with the England squad he worked with from early 2012 until the end of last year. It raises the intriguing prospect of him striving to nullify the threat posed by his son Owen when England visit Dublin in next year’s championship. Meanwhile, the announcement of Jones’ revised elite England squad will take place next Wednesday. The naming of a captain is to be delayed until just days before the Six Nations opener against Scotland at Murrayfield. With Chris Robshaw not in contention to retain the leadership role, Dylan Hartley remains the front-runner despite being gradually eased back into action by Northampton after a spell out due to concussion. But the decision to wait until early February to confirm an appointment allows the new management team more time to assess form and selection issues.