‘We’re Trying To Play The Best Way We Can’ – Andy Farrell

A changing squad, an historic Thursday night opening game, and the excitement of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations – Andy Farrell was on media duty today at the tournament launch in Edinburgh.

Ireland have lost just three games in the last four years in the Championship but Andy Farrell says you have to take each year as it comes and embrace the excitement, “I suppose teams change and evolve and people retire, injuries, form, all of that. So there’s always moving parts. But the same excitement is always there at the start of every Six Nations.”

“The Six Nations is always full of surprises, everyone has the idea of who’s favourites this year and who’s going to go for a Grand Slam. There is so much excitement when you move through the games, somebody’s always in a completely different place to where they were the week before. So, all the emotion and everything that goes with that and the pressure that goes with that, makes it a special competition, and it never ceases to surprise you.”

Ireland kick off the Championship with a Thursday night match at Stade de France, a challenge that Farrell is keen to embrace, “It’s one of the most iconic places to play in World Rugby, to be privileged enough to start off a competition, on an unprecedented Thursday night is always going to be special, so it’s exciting for us. Everyone prepares to kick the competition off with a bang, but two good sides will be going at it hammer and tongue. We’ll see which course it takes, but everyone knows Paris is a tough place to go, but it’s an exciting one at that.

Speaking about the evolving nature of the team he commented,

“Our squads are changing so at this moment in time, we’ve had 12 new caps last year with 16 guys that are on 10 caps or less so it’s a different group for us, so we’ve got to go through our learnings together. At the same time, we care about performing and winning for the country, for the fans, and for each other.

“It really doesn’t matter to us whether you’re being hunted, or you are hunting. It’s the same for us. We’re trying to play ourselves the best way we can and that all comes down to standards and preparation. If you take care of that, the rest of it looks after itself.”