IT WAS HOT and heavy in Maynooth as a gradually increasing Lions squad and their coaches made the most of conditions that they likely won’t see much of when they head south to work through the New Zealand winter.
Jack McGrath gets some hydration in. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
With the sun beating down, formalities in Carton House were delayed around 40 minutes. So soon after stepping from the field to a shower, the heat from the bright lights needed for TV cameras got the better of poor Dan Cole. The Leicester and England prop momentarily ducked to mop his perspiring head.
The heat of competition was intense on the training field too, according to Andy Farrell, Ireland’s defence coach commandeered by the Lions a second time.
“We had 14 in the first week, and 13 (more) this week. The intensity has been through the roof,” said Farrell.
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“It has been a different level. You ask the most experienced lads that have been in these squads before and they’ll tell you the quality has been exceptional. That helps with our preparation for the speed of the games we’ll be involved in.”
Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
The speed of information upload from coaching staff to players is at a much more deliberate pace.
The basics are being hammered in as solid foundations while the squad is still in the northern hemisphere. When they head south, the plan is to add to the systems bit by bit. However, the earlier-than-expected arrivals of players from Saracens and Leinster has Farrell feeling a little ahead of schedule.
“We expected a few less numbers than we had. We’ve been able to get more advancement with our plan going forward. Last week we only had one half-back, Greig Laidlaw, and to get a few more half-backs in and more organisational stuff done with ball in hand has been great for us.”
“We finished off the week today with a session trying to put everything together that we’ve built over the last two weeks, and the intensity was there, as you would expect, and the competition was there, as you would expect. We have a couple of days off before we meet again next Sunday, and we’ll roll in with a good couple of weeks under our belt.”
If you try covering every base of a rugby game within a week or within 10 days, you’ll end up standing for nothing. So we’ve got to get the basics right first of all and then build on that as we go throughout the tour.
“Any system is complex if people are on a different page, whatever that system is, people have to be as a team, as an identity and that’s the way we’ll work forward.”
Among the half-backs Farrell mentions are his son Owen and Ireland 10 Jonathan Sexton. The defence coach reported that the latter has trained in full while Sean O’Brien’s calf is improving. the Tullow Tank has a month to build fitness for the first Test against the All Blacks. The 3 June tour opener is coming down the tracks fast, however, so O’Brien will have to be among the front-runners in the homework stakes to make up for his lack of pitch time.
Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“When you get the calibre of player that we’ve had come in and everyone is trying to show how much homework they’ve done with the new systems et cetera, then you see people come to the forefront and you see leadership coming out in people.
“You see guys doing extra work constantly throughout the day on their computers, pulling each other in and trying to make sure we’re as galvanised as we possibly can be in such a short space of time. And what tends to happen in this type of environment, because of the class of player that you’re working with, they tend to get it very quickly.”
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'The intensity has been through the roof' with fast-learning Lions - Andy Farrell
IT WAS HOT and heavy in Maynooth as a gradually increasing Lions squad and their coaches made the most of conditions that they likely won’t see much of when they head south to work through the New Zealand winter.
With the sun beating down, formalities in Carton House were delayed around 40 minutes. So soon after stepping from the field to a shower, the heat from the bright lights needed for TV cameras got the better of poor Dan Cole. The Leicester and England prop momentarily ducked to mop his perspiring head.
The heat of competition was intense on the training field too, according to Andy Farrell, Ireland’s defence coach commandeered by the Lions a second time.
“We had 14 in the first week, and 13 (more) this week. The intensity has been through the roof,” said Farrell.
“It has been a different level. You ask the most experienced lads that have been in these squads before and they’ll tell you the quality has been exceptional. That helps with our preparation for the speed of the games we’ll be involved in.”
The speed of information upload from coaching staff to players is at a much more deliberate pace.
The basics are being hammered in as solid foundations while the squad is still in the northern hemisphere. When they head south, the plan is to add to the systems bit by bit. However, the earlier-than-expected arrivals of players from Saracens and Leinster has Farrell feeling a little ahead of schedule.
“We expected a few less numbers than we had. We’ve been able to get more advancement with our plan going forward. Last week we only had one half-back, Greig Laidlaw, and to get a few more half-backs in and more organisational stuff done with ball in hand has been great for us.”
“We finished off the week today with a session trying to put everything together that we’ve built over the last two weeks, and the intensity was there, as you would expect, and the competition was there, as you would expect. We have a couple of days off before we meet again next Sunday, and we’ll roll in with a good couple of weeks under our belt.”
“Any system is complex if people are on a different page, whatever that system is, people have to be as a team, as an identity and that’s the way we’ll work forward.”
Among the half-backs Farrell mentions are his son Owen and Ireland 10 Jonathan Sexton. The defence coach reported that the latter has trained in full while Sean O’Brien’s calf is improving. the Tullow Tank has a month to build fitness for the first Test against the All Blacks. The 3 June tour opener is coming down the tracks fast, however, so O’Brien will have to be among the front-runners in the homework stakes to make up for his lack of pitch time.
“When you get the calibre of player that we’ve had come in and everyone is trying to show how much homework they’ve done with the new systems et cetera, then you see people come to the forefront and you see leadership coming out in people.
“You see guys doing extra work constantly throughout the day on their computers, pulling each other in and trying to make sure we’re as galvanised as we possibly can be in such a short space of time. And what tends to happen in this type of environment, because of the class of player that you’re working with, they tend to get it very quickly.”
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