RUGBY
Pressure on Farrell as Ireland kick off their Six Nations against Scotland
By Daire Walsh
HE has endured a long wait up to this point, but Andy Farrell will finally lead Ireland into battle as head coach when they welcome Scotland to the Aviva Stadium in a Six Nations opener on Saturday (kick-off 4.45pm).
It was as far back as November 26 2018 that official confirmation came through of Farrell being the heir apparent to Joe Schmidt in the role. The New Zealander remained in charge for what proved to be an ill-fated World Cup campaign in Japan with Farrell retaining his defensive brief within the coaching structure.
Schmidt’s decision to announce his departure so far in advance of the global tournament raised retrospective question marks and Farrell’s own contribution to Ireland’s downfall of 2019 has come under close scrutiny. He is just five days away from his first game as a head coach, having work alongside the likes of Mark McCall, Stuart Lancaster, Warren Gatland and Schmidt in the past.
There will certainly be pressure on Farrell to deliver in terms of both results and performances, given how much stock the IRFU place on the Six Nations. There has also been a clamour for change in playing personnel, though we will have to wait until Thursday’s team announcement before receiving a clearer picture of how the Wigan man will proceed.
Injury has unfortunately ruled Kildare duo Joey Carbery (Athy) and Tadhg Beirne (Eadestown) out of contention, while Donadea native Will Connors was omitted from the squad Farrell initially selected for a mid-season stocktake in December.
Ireland should be confident of securing victory in Lansdowne Road on Saturday – for a number of reasons. Leaving aside the obvious benefits that come with home advantage – albeit they started 2019 with a crushing reversal to England in the Ballsbridge venue – Scotland find themselves in a difficult position at the present time.
They fell short to Ireland in their World Cup pool opener and subsequently missed out on a knockout spot courtesy of a later reversal to host nation Japan. Head coach Gregor Townsend has also had to contend with off-field issues in recent days, after star player Finn Russell was disciplined for missing out on last Monday week’s international training session.
While he may return before the end of the Championship, he will definitely miss out on the trip to Dublin. Just like in their magnificent Grand Slam season (2018), Ireland face Scotland, Wales and Italy at home in 2020.
They will target wins in each of these encounters with France and England set to provide stern tests of Ireland’s away day resolve.
Meanwhile, former Newbridge College student Cian Prendergast will aim to be involved when the Ireland U20s begin the defence of their Grand Slam crown against Scotland at Musgrave Park on Friday night. Athy’s Martin Moloney made a huge impact for the side in 2019 and Pendergast has a similar goal in mind.
The Ireland women’s team will also kick-start a busy 2020 when they welcome Scotland (coached by former Irish supremo Philip Doyle) to Donnybrook Stadium on Sunday.