IRELAND HEAD COACH Andy Farrell said he was proud of his players after Ireland’s 22-19 win over Joe Schmidt’s Australia.
Farrell’s men trailed 13-5 at the break, having delivered a 40-minute performance full of errors.
But Ireland came from behind twice in the second half to edge a victory over the Wallabies, with replacement hooker Gus McCarthy scoring the winning try in the 73rd minute.
Farrell said Ireland had honest words at the break, although it wasn’t just the head coach delivering the messages.
“We were feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit so there was a bit of honesty from the lads,” said Farrell.
“He [captain Caelan Doris] led the way with the honesty as well. We were feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit because I understand it’s human nature, and we had enough possession and territory to win the game twice over in the first half and we spilt enough ball and made enough errors in the first half to lose two matches as well.
“We were feeling sorry for ourselves but you’ve no right to think that everything’s going to go your own way, all singing, all dancing the whole time.
“So with that in mind, we got over ourselves and I thought we came back strong.
“The big picture of the game is that I’m really proud of the victory because it was hard-fought in the end against a bit of adversity, so delighted to get the win.”
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Farrell said he was delighted with the impact of his bench as Ireland overcame the Wallabies in the endgame.
Cian Healy became Ireland’s record caps holder, 21-year-old McCarthy scored the key try, while Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony, Garry Ringrose, and halfbacks Craig Casey and Jack Crowley all contributed.
“I thought it was excellent, some really good impact from Pete and Andy, Gary Ringrose, the two halfbacks,” said Farrell.
“I thought Gus was excellent again. I mean, he had nerves of steel. A young kid coming on in that type of pressurised situation when things weren’t smooth in the lineout at times, but when he came on he nailed everything and to score the try as well.
“I suppose there’s a little bit of you’ve nothing to lose when you’re behind and the performance isn’t as good as it should be but they didn’t just try to fit in, they tried to add in many departments but mainly with the energy and the grunt.”
21-year-old Sam Prendergast got a big starting chance in Ireland’s number 10 shirt, his second consecutive start there.
Bundee Aki, Peter O'Mahony, and Jamison Gibson-Park celebrate. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Crowley was in the bench role for Ireland, coming on to help Farrell’s men home, with the Ireland head coach happy with both of his out-halves.
“Good, yeah,” said Farrell’s assessment.
“I thought Sam had some lovely stuff. He made some errors, some kicks that weren’t perfect.
“His touch-finding kicks were outstanding and it’s a real feature. Some of the kicks he put up in the air were obviously too long and we needed to fix that, it allowed them to relieve a bit of territory.
“He had some nice play. I don’t know what you thought about the quick tap. There was a water boy on, I think they said, but the referee had given the mark so that’s nice, innovative stuff from him.
“But equally I thought Jack was excellent when he came on. He took hold of the game. The little ball that he put into the corner, a nice weighted kick rather than just putting it out. We got the lineout from that that really kicked us on.
“So delighted with them both.”
The most disappointing aspect for Farrell was how Ireland compounded errors with further mistakes soon after, something that was also apparent in their defeat to New Zealand at the start of this window.
“I mean, if you look at them, there were 14 of them in the first half,” said Farrell.
“That’s a hell of a lot. You obviously take the positives from the fact of being down there in the right parts of the field but I mean, some of them were simple ball in hand and then dropping them. Some of them were lineout stuff.
“A lot of them were a bit fancy – not seeing the pass, just presuming that people are going to be there. Our timing was off a little bit.
“Our stats over the last however many years have been really good in the sense that if we get in front early in the first half, our winning percentage is pretty high. It’s not as great when you’re losing but to be eight points down and find a way is very pleasing for us.”
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'The big picture of the game is that I'm really proud' - Farrell
IRELAND HEAD COACH Andy Farrell said he was proud of his players after Ireland’s 22-19 win over Joe Schmidt’s Australia.
Farrell’s men trailed 13-5 at the break, having delivered a 40-minute performance full of errors.
But Ireland came from behind twice in the second half to edge a victory over the Wallabies, with replacement hooker Gus McCarthy scoring the winning try in the 73rd minute.
Farrell said Ireland had honest words at the break, although it wasn’t just the head coach delivering the messages.
“We were feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit so there was a bit of honesty from the lads,” said Farrell.
“He [captain Caelan Doris] led the way with the honesty as well. We were feeling sorry for ourselves a little bit because I understand it’s human nature, and we had enough possession and territory to win the game twice over in the first half and we spilt enough ball and made enough errors in the first half to lose two matches as well.
“We were feeling sorry for ourselves but you’ve no right to think that everything’s going to go your own way, all singing, all dancing the whole time.
“So with that in mind, we got over ourselves and I thought we came back strong.
“The big picture of the game is that I’m really proud of the victory because it was hard-fought in the end against a bit of adversity, so delighted to get the win.”
Farrell said he was delighted with the impact of his bench as Ireland overcame the Wallabies in the endgame.
Cian Healy became Ireland’s record caps holder, 21-year-old McCarthy scored the key try, while Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony, Garry Ringrose, and halfbacks Craig Casey and Jack Crowley all contributed.
“I thought it was excellent, some really good impact from Pete and Andy, Gary Ringrose, the two halfbacks,” said Farrell.
“I thought Gus was excellent again. I mean, he had nerves of steel. A young kid coming on in that type of pressurised situation when things weren’t smooth in the lineout at times, but when he came on he nailed everything and to score the try as well.
“I suppose there’s a little bit of you’ve nothing to lose when you’re behind and the performance isn’t as good as it should be but they didn’t just try to fit in, they tried to add in many departments but mainly with the energy and the grunt.”
21-year-old Sam Prendergast got a big starting chance in Ireland’s number 10 shirt, his second consecutive start there.
Crowley was in the bench role for Ireland, coming on to help Farrell’s men home, with the Ireland head coach happy with both of his out-halves.
“Good, yeah,” said Farrell’s assessment.
“I thought Sam had some lovely stuff. He made some errors, some kicks that weren’t perfect.
“His touch-finding kicks were outstanding and it’s a real feature. Some of the kicks he put up in the air were obviously too long and we needed to fix that, it allowed them to relieve a bit of territory.
“He had some nice play. I don’t know what you thought about the quick tap. There was a water boy on, I think they said, but the referee had given the mark so that’s nice, innovative stuff from him.
“But equally I thought Jack was excellent when he came on. He took hold of the game. The little ball that he put into the corner, a nice weighted kick rather than just putting it out. We got the lineout from that that really kicked us on.
“So delighted with them both.”
The most disappointing aspect for Farrell was how Ireland compounded errors with further mistakes soon after, something that was also apparent in their defeat to New Zealand at the start of this window.
“I mean, if you look at them, there were 14 of them in the first half,” said Farrell.
“That’s a hell of a lot. You obviously take the positives from the fact of being down there in the right parts of the field but I mean, some of them were simple ball in hand and then dropping them. Some of them were lineout stuff.
“A lot of them were a bit fancy – not seeing the pass, just presuming that people are going to be there. Our timing was off a little bit.
“Our stats over the last however many years have been really good in the sense that if we get in front early in the first half, our winning percentage is pretty high. It’s not as great when you’re losing but to be eight points down and find a way is very pleasing for us.”
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