Farrell Praises Ireland’s Character And Resilience To See Out Tight Result

Robert Baloucoune and Stuart McCloskey were lnvolved in some key moments during Ireland’s hard-fought 20-13 win over Italy, and head coach Andy Farrell praised the Ulster pair’s efforts to help the team get back to winning ways.

Baloucoune marked his Guinness Men’s Six Nations debut with a silky 56th-minute try, made a line break and beat five defenders across his 80 minutes on the pitch, and had a 100% tackle success rate during what was a player-of-the-match performance.

His Championship bow has been a long time coming, with the Enniskillen man winning his most recent Ireland cap against Fiji back in November 2022. This season he signalled his intent with two tries for the Ireland XV against Spain, and six in seven games for Ulster.

Along with his scoring ability and speed, Farrell was pleased to see him show his aerial skills, particularly during the first half, and he was also defensively sound on the right wing, where he was able to keep close tabs on the experienced Monty Ioane.

“Delighted for Rob because we’ve obviously had (him in for) a few caps before, but it’s been a stop-start and it’s been frustrating for him,” said the Ireland head coach, speaking in the aftermath at the Aviva Stadium.

“The talent is there for everyone to see when he puts the Ulster jersey on. To get the opportunity now coming back into fitness and to show what he can do at this type of level is very pleasing for him and for the rest of us.

“To see him believing in himself and backing himself, not just beating people and scoring tries, but winning balls in the air. A very good defensive decision-maker as well.

“(Competition for places), that’s what we’re after, aren’t we? We’re after people putting their hands up, so yeah, there will be a few headaches for next week, that’s for sure.”

 

Mack Hansen has been one of the first names on Ireland’s teamsheet in recent seasons, but with his season now over after undergoing surgery on a foot injury, the number 14 jersey is there for the taking, especially as Calvin Nash, who was ever-present during 2024 Six Nations title-winning run, is also currently sidelined with a shoulder problem.

An impressive operator, Tommy O’Brien started Ireland’s last seven Tests on the right wing, including last week’s tournament opener against France, before Baloucoune was the preferred option to face the Azzurri. It certainly intensifies the battle for selection for next Saturday’s trip to Twickenham.

Now known as Allianz Stadium, the home of England Rugby is where McCloskey made his international debut back in 2016, as a 23-year-old. His Test career took a while to take off, particularly given the strength in depth at centre, but he has now started six of Ireland’s last eight matches.

In the absence of the suspended Bundee Aki and the injured Robbie Henshaw, the Bangor native has been growing in influence, and given the quality of his performances for Ulster this season, it is likely that he would have been starting at inside centre anyway even if Aki and Henshaw were available.

McCloskey was Ireland’s leading ball carrier in Paris and provided the assist for Nick Timoney’s try, and against Italy, his offloading and passing skills paved the way for Jamie Osborne and Baloucoune to run in scores at crucial stages.

Farrell commented: “Stu carried really well for us in parts last week, but there’s more to his game than that, and he knows there’s more to his game.

“He certainly addressed that this week as far as how he made others feel around the park as well with his ability to not just take the ball to the line, but to offload, and I thought it was a great line by Jamie, but Jamie knows who to follow because Stu’s so good at that.”

Despite it being a close run thing in the end, it must been remembered that there was a fair bit of inexperience in Ireland’s matchday squad.

There were seven players involved with 11 caps or less, two Six Nations newcomers in Baloucoune and Cormac Izuchukwu, while Edwin Edogbo came on late to make his debut.

Having trailed 10-5 at half-time, Ireland fought back to lead 20-13 thanks to tries from Jack Conan and Baloucoune, and a Jack Crowley penalty. Italy threw the kitchen sink at them during the closing stages, and were left to rue Louis Lynagh’s disallowed try which was chalked for a forward pass.

Having already mentioned the character shown by his side to see out the result, Farrell believes that coming through such a stern test against a team that beat Scotland last week is bound to serve the squad’s younger, more inexperienced players well.

“We were playing against a very good Italian side that was never going to go away, because the recent history shows us that of how they’ve been performing. But, obviously it was more than that, wasn’t it?

“They were trying to batter the door down at the end, so the resilience that we showed to win the game was fantastic to see. That’s the bigger picture stuff.

“Obviously, there’s too many errors within our game at certain times, but the character shown to come back and have the courage to play the type of rugby that we did at times was very encouraging.

“To say that we were under a bit of pressure….the (third) try that we scored with all those phases was as good a try as we’ve ever scored. So, it just shows that we’re able to back ourselves.”

He added: “I think the experience that some of these lads are getting is absolutely huge. The lads (players left out and former players) that are watching in the stand or at home who are not here, the big names, the lads that have been there and done that, they’ve been through all this.

“They’ve been through this type of pressure and come out the other side and they’ve grown because of it.

“These lads that managed to do that today, to stand up tall, (it) will certainly stand to them. So, delighted with the win against a very good Italian side.”

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