‘You know that I love this!’ – Farrell on Ireland future

Head coach Andy Farrell says that he will “have a conversation” with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) on what comes next after Ireland’s Triple Crown winning Six Nations campaign.

Speculation of Farrell’s departure from the role he has held since 2019 rose during the tournament, with English Prem side Saracens releasing a statement to distance the club from “disrespectful” reports they had offered Farrell a coaching role after the 2027 Rugby World Cup when his Ireland deal ends.

But after their 43-21 win over Scotland which closed their Six Nations campaign on a high, focus has once again turned to Farrell’s future.

And as he did before the Wales game, Farrell said he will talk to the IRFU on his future, jokingly adding that while he would not want to step away, he would sometimes rather watch Ireland from the bar that from his coaching position.

“We’ve already spoken about having a conversation. That won’t be too far away. So, we’ll see how that goes,” Farrell said.

“Nobody wants to give those away [days like Saturday]. I’d like to watch it though, sometimes. Walking down from the Shelbourne and doing a bit of a pub crawl, it sounds nice to me!

“The staff that we’ve got is second to none. Great people. Great at their jobs. As a coaching staff, I think we’re getting better. We’re learning about each other more. We’re getting more cohesive and getting better as well. It’s not just the players.

After four wins from five games, the Triple Crown retained and 35 players used across the tournament, there were plenty of positives from Ireland’s Six Nations campaign, despite the fact they fell agonisingly short in their quest to win the championship.

The focus, aside from his future, for Farrell is already starting to turn how he will prime his squad to peak for the summer and further down the line to next year’s Rugby World Cup.

In Farrell’s view, that starts with players going back to their provinces and replicating their international form shown in the impressive wins over England and Scotland, on the club stage for the remainder of the season.

He believes that is the easiest way for them to guarantee a place in the squad for the summer’s inaugural Nations Championship, where Ireland will take on Australia, Japan and New Zealand, which will act as good preparation for the World Cup.

“We’ll see what the momentum is when the lads go back to their provinces now,” he added.

“People have to grow through this and the lads who have had a sniff of it, it’s up to them to keep competing to show they’ve learned some lessons and everyone is fighting for a seat on the plane.