AS YOU MIGHT have heard before, Andy Farrell is a big Man City fan.
He hasn’t met Pep Guardiola yet but he has been introduced to Mikel Arteta, previously Guardiola’s assistant at City before becoming the boss at Arsenal and leading them to their current spot at the top of the Premier League.
“He’s a wonderful guy,” said Farrell of Arteta. “Obviously, he’s doing a fantastic job there.”
Although City aren’t at their peak this season, Farrell hasn’t been slow to use their work to highlight to his own Ireland players how the best sports teams can deliver under pressure.
“I used an example of Man City playing Leeds away this year,” explained Farrell. “A lot of superstars were in that side and Leeds went for them, physically went after them and it’s a tough old place to go, Leeds is. It’s hostile.
“Leeds were playing unbelievably well and I thought, ‘Wow, City, we’re going to see the character of the side here’. And City went after them, broke them, 1-0, broke them 2-0, game over 3-0.
“It takes a strong character, a strong mentality as a team to go to somebody’s backyard that means a lot to them and play your own game.”
It’s pertinent this weekend as Ireland visit Wales in Cardiff, where the Principality Stadium should be rocking with a sell-out crowd of 74,500.
Farrell consulted his players and they decided to request that the roof of the stadium be closed for this Six Nations encounter. The weather forecast for tomorrow is actually decent but Farrell explained that this is nothing to do with the conditions.
“We want to embrace it and learn from it,” he said.
“Hopefully you walk into the stadium with a good, strong body language that says, ‘This is where I want to be’. That’s the next step for our lads.”
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Farrell with his Ireland captain, Johnny Sexton. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Farrell looks everywhere for lessons that can be applied to his Ireland team, who are ranked number one in the world and are the favourites for this Six Nations.
It almost pains him to admit that Man United are one of the great examples of a club that had sustained success.
“I’m obsessed with why teams keep being successful, why they are able to stay at the top because everyone is trying to hunt them down,” said the Ireland boss.
“The Man Uniteds of the golden years… I’m a Man City supporter, but I was in awe of how they kept on winning title after title because it’s so hard to do and the mentality and the fight to want to go out and attack the game in your manner is pretty key.”
It was Alex Ferguson who led United during that incredible period, guiding them to a stunning 38 trophies in his 26 years in charge.
Farrell has met Ferguson a few times and picked his brain.
“He’s an impressive man isn’t he, there’s an aura about him. Respect.”
You will have gathered by now that Farrell is massive on the mental side of sport. He has overseen the tactical transformation of this Ireland team’s attack, but he appears to place an even greater emphasis on their mental skills.
Gary Keegan joined the set-up in 2020 to lead this work. Previously a huge influence in the transformation of Irish boxing, Keegan has also worked with GAA sides, as well as Leinster. He has been regularly name-checked by the Ireland players again this week.
“I think it’s where we can make the biggest strides,” said Farrell of the mental side of the game.
“I think we’ve made a start, I don’t think we’re anywhere near where we can get to.
“The game is a very emotional one and being able to control those emotions so that we can do what we say we’re going to do is key to us.”
Farrell embraces challenges in a way that other coaches seemingly don’t. He always finds the positive amidst circumstances that could be perceived as negative or chaotic.
So the fact that Tadhg Furlong is missing this weekend is a welcome challenge in Farrell’s eyes. It means Ireland learn more about Finlay Bealham and Tom O’Toole.
“It’s great for us,” he said, very convincingly. “It’s the same as Johnny [Sexton] pulling out the last game [against Australia in November]. It’s great for us, learning, adapting, making sure we build trust in others.
Finlay Bealham gets a big chance in Cardiff tomorrow. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“That’s absolutely key to building the strength of the squad with the year we’ve got ahead of us.”
Farrell was in relaxed form yesterday before Ireland flew from their training camp in Portugal over to Cardiff. He has engaged with the travelling media this week and showed some of the warmth that makes him so popular with his players.
It helped that Ireland have trained well at their base in Quinta do Lago, with Farrell believing they’re perfectly primed for the Wales clash.
“I think it’s been our best prep, I really do,” said Farrell. “It’s another thing translating that, but we talk about how we translate the standards that we set in training. In that regard, it’s been top-drawer.
“The reason that it has been pretty good is because there’s an appetite to get better. That’s the main point – how are we going to progress our game and what does that look like? Let’s go after it and let’s see what we can do.
“We also know that Wales are going to have a say in that, and that progression, so how we are mentally attuned is going to be key as well because we know it’s going to be a big physical battle. How we mentally handle the occasions is going to be key.”
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'I’m obsessed with why teams keep being successful, why they stay at the top'
AS YOU MIGHT have heard before, Andy Farrell is a big Man City fan.
He hasn’t met Pep Guardiola yet but he has been introduced to Mikel Arteta, previously Guardiola’s assistant at City before becoming the boss at Arsenal and leading them to their current spot at the top of the Premier League.
“He’s a wonderful guy,” said Farrell of Arteta. “Obviously, he’s doing a fantastic job there.”
Although City aren’t at their peak this season, Farrell hasn’t been slow to use their work to highlight to his own Ireland players how the best sports teams can deliver under pressure.
“I used an example of Man City playing Leeds away this year,” explained Farrell. “A lot of superstars were in that side and Leeds went for them, physically went after them and it’s a tough old place to go, Leeds is. It’s hostile.
“Leeds were playing unbelievably well and I thought, ‘Wow, City, we’re going to see the character of the side here’. And City went after them, broke them, 1-0, broke them 2-0, game over 3-0.
“It takes a strong character, a strong mentality as a team to go to somebody’s backyard that means a lot to them and play your own game.”
It’s pertinent this weekend as Ireland visit Wales in Cardiff, where the Principality Stadium should be rocking with a sell-out crowd of 74,500.
Farrell consulted his players and they decided to request that the roof of the stadium be closed for this Six Nations encounter. The weather forecast for tomorrow is actually decent but Farrell explained that this is nothing to do with the conditions.
“We want to embrace it and learn from it,” he said.
“Hopefully you walk into the stadium with a good, strong body language that says, ‘This is where I want to be’. That’s the next step for our lads.”
Farrell looks everywhere for lessons that can be applied to his Ireland team, who are ranked number one in the world and are the favourites for this Six Nations.
It almost pains him to admit that Man United are one of the great examples of a club that had sustained success.
“I’m obsessed with why teams keep being successful, why they are able to stay at the top because everyone is trying to hunt them down,” said the Ireland boss.
“The Man Uniteds of the golden years… I’m a Man City supporter, but I was in awe of how they kept on winning title after title because it’s so hard to do and the mentality and the fight to want to go out and attack the game in your manner is pretty key.”
It was Alex Ferguson who led United during that incredible period, guiding them to a stunning 38 trophies in his 26 years in charge.
Farrell has met Ferguson a few times and picked his brain.
“He’s an impressive man isn’t he, there’s an aura about him. Respect.”
You will have gathered by now that Farrell is massive on the mental side of sport. He has overseen the tactical transformation of this Ireland team’s attack, but he appears to place an even greater emphasis on their mental skills.
Gary Keegan joined the set-up in 2020 to lead this work. Previously a huge influence in the transformation of Irish boxing, Keegan has also worked with GAA sides, as well as Leinster. He has been regularly name-checked by the Ireland players again this week.
“I think it’s where we can make the biggest strides,” said Farrell of the mental side of the game.
“I think we’ve made a start, I don’t think we’re anywhere near where we can get to.
“The game is a very emotional one and being able to control those emotions so that we can do what we say we’re going to do is key to us.”
Farrell embraces challenges in a way that other coaches seemingly don’t. He always finds the positive amidst circumstances that could be perceived as negative or chaotic.
So the fact that Tadhg Furlong is missing this weekend is a welcome challenge in Farrell’s eyes. It means Ireland learn more about Finlay Bealham and Tom O’Toole.
“It’s great for us,” he said, very convincingly. “It’s the same as Johnny [Sexton] pulling out the last game [against Australia in November]. It’s great for us, learning, adapting, making sure we build trust in others.
“That’s absolutely key to building the strength of the squad with the year we’ve got ahead of us.”
Farrell was in relaxed form yesterday before Ireland flew from their training camp in Portugal over to Cardiff. He has engaged with the travelling media this week and showed some of the warmth that makes him so popular with his players.
It helped that Ireland have trained well at their base in Quinta do Lago, with Farrell believing they’re perfectly primed for the Wales clash.
“I think it’s been our best prep, I really do,” said Farrell. “It’s another thing translating that, but we talk about how we translate the standards that we set in training. In that regard, it’s been top-drawer.
“The reason that it has been pretty good is because there’s an appetite to get better. That’s the main point – how are we going to progress our game and what does that look like? Let’s go after it and let’s see what we can do.
“We also know that Wales are going to have a say in that, and that progression, so how we are mentally attuned is going to be key as well because we know it’s going to be a big physical battle. How we mentally handle the occasions is going to be key.”
Get instant updates on your province on The42 app. With Laya Healthcare, official health and wellbeing partner to Leinster, Munster and Connacht Rugby.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Alex Ferguson andy farrell Six Nations Ireland Man City Man United mental skills Wales