Ireland failed to score a point after the 32nd minute in last Friday’s 22-19 win over Argentina, a week on from failing to do so after the 42nd minute. But although this had echoes of the second Test in Durban, other Irish games last season and indeed big matches involving Leinster, Andy Farrell was not inclined to worry unduly about Ireland being outscored by 14-0 and 10-0 in the last 35 minutes or so of their opening two Autumn Nations Series games.
“Too small a sample size,” said the Irish head coach. “It’s certainly not a trend.”
Nor did Farrell see this as signs that Ireland are trying to build themselves mentally to where they were previously.
“It’s not building, it’s when you get good at something you need to keep cultivating it, to keep it ticking along. I think the dangerous thing in life in general is when you think you’ve got something, that’s dangerous ground. So, we need to keep addressing that.”
The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times
Tommy O’Brien: ‘It was awesome to get Jordie Barrett’s opinions on things’
David Humphreys: ‘Leinster are incredibly good at nearly everything... the challenge is to make the others more competitive’
Andy Farrell backs Henry Pollock to prove ‘point of difference’ for Lions
Farrell accepted that it was inevitable that Ireland would have a lull at some point against such quality opposition.
The Felipe Contepomi interview
“I said to them [the Irish players] before the game and at half-time, that’s the nature of the game when you’re playing top-level opposition, and I would reaffirm what I’ve said all week and just did there. They [Argentina] are a top side, a top side. They’re a well-balanced side. They’re physical, composed. They look fit, dangerous athletes but they’re as cohesive a team as you will see now in world rugby.”
Nevertheless, Farrell admitted he wanted to see “two better performances” as well as two more wins against Fiji next Saturday and Australia on Saturday week, specifically “being more clinical in how we finish things off and to continually get better at most things. We were a little bit patchy in parts. So, be more consistent across the board.”
Farrell had wanted a response to the performance against the All Blacks and reckoned: “Most responded. There’s quite a few of them that were disappointed with last week’s performance and I think as a whole our first half was pretty good given the opposition so the individuals were obviously up for that. I thought the subs did a fantastic job.”
The Fijian game is Farrell’s penultimate match at the helm before taking his sabbatical with the British & Irish Lions and he wants to leave the squad in a good place for Simon Easterby, Paul O’Connell et al.
“That’s always part of my thinking. Honestly, I try to make sure that there’s no distractions and there hasn’t been. It’s full steam ahead for me. This is a great window for us to improve as a group.”
Farrell loves celebrating milestones with his players, be it the debuts of Thomas Clarkson and Sam Prendergast last Friday or, at the other end of the spectrum, Cian Healy equalling Brian O’Driscoll’s record as Ireland’s most-capped player of all-time with 133 appearances, to which the latter quipped on TNT Sports’ last Friday night: “I never wanted it anyway!”
Healy will assuredly lead out on Ireland next Saturday against Fiji when setting the new landmark, although Farrell revealed that the prop’s achievement was already celebrated last week.
“There was a good evening on Wednesday night. He hates it but he has to let us celebrate it. We’re the fortunate ones to be in the room but we’ve celebrated it well. You don’t know what can happen in the future so we have to celebrate this one as appropriately as possible.”
As for Clarkson and Prendergast making their debuts, Farrell said: “It’s huge. You’ve seen the characters throughout training, and you know they’re ready for that type of occasion and pressured occasion. I said to them in the changing room then that they came in well-prepared because of the form they’ve shown this season and it’s not about one cap, is it? It’s what you do with that one cap and how hungry you are to kick on now to gain on that experience.
“I thought it was a big old task for Tom Clarkson coming on, especially when it’s a game of collision-winning and they’re going to test you through the forwards. They’re a good scrummaging pack and I thought he did really well.
“I thought it was a tough one for Sam to manage his way through but again, you give them that type of exposure and see what they’re about. Both of them did really well.
“I think they were causing us a little bit of trouble, whether it was legal or not, through the tighthead and Cian did well to come on for his record-breaking cap there, which was great.
“Ryan Baird was obviously injured. I thought Jamie Osborne was immense when he came on. He has really stepped up, certainly this season for Leinster in the games we’ve seen. All in all, I thought the bench did a really good job.”
The Irish coach doesn’t talk about World Cup cycles until the midway point in those cycles, but the investment in the future as well as the present is constant.
“It always is. I was speaking to the Argentinian boys after the game, and they feel similar. But that never stops. You’re always trying to see who’s coming through because we need to push each other along, we need to find the depth that we all crave.”
