THERE’S A PHRASE that Andy Farrell reminds his players of from time to time.
“The biggest game in Irish rugby’s history is always the next one,” is what Farrell tells them.
It’s not strictly true but the sentiment is a sensible one for an international head coach whose job is to win as many games as possible.
So while tomorrow’s clash with the Springboks is essentially a friendly at the end of a long season, it’s much more than that to Farrell and his players.
Ireland know they underperformed in last weekend’s first Test defeat in Pretoria. A blunt, self-critical review showed them that they were some distance from the standards they have set for themselves.
“If you don’t give honest feedback, in my opinion, you don’t care,” said Farrell yesterday.
“People think that it is acceptable and all of a sudden, you are accepting something that’s [as if it's] you at 100% and it’s not the case.
“We are after better than that and everyone agrees.”
Whatever way it’s dressed up, dropping your captain is a clear indicator of a head coach’s dissatisfaction about how things went. Farrell has added physicality to his starting pack by bringing James Ryan into the second row, switching Tadhg Beirne to blindside, and moving Peter O’Mahony onto the bench.
Farrell said it would be wrong of people to write O’Mahony off and he expects the Munster man to be determined to prove a point when he comes off the bench tomorrow.
A hungry Garry Ringrose comes into the starting midfield, while injuries ensure chances to Rónan Kelleher and Conor Murray at hooker and scrum-half.
It’s understood that Farrell was livid with some of the refereeing in last weekend’s first Test but he was equally frustrated with what his team could control.
Farrell has been honest about Ireland’s performance in public so you can imagine how unflinching the internal review has been.
“I’ve no doubt it was a great game to watch, it was exciting,” said Farrell. “A bit chaotic at times, there was a lot going on decision-wise or lack of them, all the talk’s been of that as well.
“It was a proper Test match and we get all of that but when we strip it back from our side, we’re disappointed enough.
“Our first-half performance wasn’t us, it wasn’t us doing things properly. It might not seem like that to everyone, but to us it was.”
Farrell was asked where specifically he wants Ireland to improve and joked that the braai that had just been lit outside for their dinner would have burned out by the time he finished talking if he got into that detail.
His point was a serious one, though, and it all leaves Farrell in that position of telling his men that this next game is the biggest in Irish rugby’s history.
“Because we are playing against the world number one at home after we have lost a game, and we don’t tend to lose two on the bounce,” said Farrell of why that’s the case.
“We need to take responsibility for that.”
He’s experienced enough to know that a good week of training is no guarantee of a good performance. Farrell saw that again ahead of the first Test, with Ireland putting down excellent training sessions in which they looked sharp and hungry.
“That’s what I was disappointed with in the match – we didn’t transfer it the way that we expect of ourselves,” he said.
“We’ve trained well again this week, there’s an appetite there and there is a little bit of spark. But it’s got to translate on the day, it matters on Saturday at 5pm and the opposition will have a say in that.”
Farrell has certainly set the right tone and you sense that his players will be at the right pitch to deliver a performance.
