Andy Farrell has admitted some of the players who have retained their places in the Ireland team are fortunate to do so and he wants them to repay his faith against Argentina.
Asked about his decision to stick with Jack Crowley after taking him off after 57 minutes in last week’s defeat to the All Blacks, Farrell said the out-half was one of a contingent of players who he’d kept faith with despite their poor performance levels.
Under Farrell, Ireland have not lost back to back games since defeats to Wales and France in the 2021 Six Nations and they’ve shown an ability to respond when they’ve been in a hole after losses to New Zealand and South Africa away.
Farrell made just one change to his team for the second game of the window, with Robbie Henshaw coming in for Bundee Aki at inside centre, while he’s made four changes to his bench with Thomas Clarkson and Sam Prendergast set for their debuts and Craig Casey and Ryan Baird back on the bench with Tom O’Toole out injured and Iain Henderson, Ciaran Frawley and Conor Murray dropped from the 23.
“Balance of the squad and the right team to play this game,” Farrell said when asked about his selection.
“It’s not just about the starting team, it’s always about the 23, and not just the here and now, but managing people for what’s to come as well. We were pretty lucky in regards to injuries last weekend.
“Getting people going because of how they’ve trained is pretty important as well, obviously with the lack of games for the provinces etc, all these pieces, they always come together.
“At the end of the day, first and foremost, it’s about gaining a performance against Argentina but obviously keeping the squad ticking over at the same time.
“Jack, along with quite a few of our players, would have been hoping for better performance.
“Some of them are lucky enough to get another chance to do that others are coming in and some of them played pretty well themselves, but there were too many people not right at their best last week and we’re hoping for everyone to improve, not just Jack.
“Obviously, the control of the game is something that Jack would be open and honest about of wanting to step up a little bit this weekend but we’ve certainly seen that in training this week.”
Prendergast (21) has played just 20 times for Leinster, but Farrell believes he has earned the right to show what he can do off the bench having been part of the squad on then summer tour to South Africa, while also playing in all three games on the Emerging Ireland tour.
“He’s ready. For a young fellah that’s not had much game-time provincially, he’s obviously had more of late, but in an ironic way he’s probably been patient enough.
“Because, in his own mind he’d probably thought he’s been ready for quite some time because he’s that kind of kid, a confident kid.
“The experience that he’s got from being around the squad, he’s comfortable in his own skin.
“The reason for taking him on the Emerging tour was to make sure that he understood what it was to grab hold of his team and show that he is in charge.
“He showed that in abundance, we’ve seen the knock-on effect from that in the squad in the last couple of weeks.
“In his own mind he’s ready, he’s a young kid that’s in a pressurised type position obviously. He’s going to make his mistakes, but that’s the nature of anyone coming through.”
Crowley, Frawley and Prendergast have been working with Johnny Sexton who has assumed the role of mentor to the out-halves in recent weeks, although the exact parameters of his role have not been outlined by the IRFU who have yet to announce his position.
“He’s in every week, you’re not going to ask me this every week now. Johnny is going to get fed up of being mentioned. He’s in every week,” Farrell said.
“I’ve seen his influence, certainly with the kickers. They’ve certainly come on in the last couple of weeks by a bit of routine, support, mentoring. That’s not just for the kickers, that’s across the board.”
Sexton’s long-time teammate Cian Healy is ready for a major milestone in his storied career, with the veteran prop set to join Brian O’Driscoll on a record 133 caps when he comes off the bench and Farrell paid tribute to the Clontarf native.
“The player and the person. The utmost respect doesn’t do it justice,” he said.
“It has been a pleasure to be able to coach him. I was thinking back this morning in regards to my time with Cian when I coached him for the first time in 2013 on the Lions tour.
“I was amazed at his athleticism. He would have been right in his pomp at that stage and if you remember, he got a terrible ankle injury and the tour was taken away from him.
“It was made for him, that type of tour. He’s been a world leading loose head throughout his career, hence why I talk about 2013 and Lions etc.
“But the transition that he’s made in the last number of years in how he’s not just accepted but relished the responsibility of being a mentor to somebody like Andrew Porter in the first instance.
“He’s probably the Cian of 2013 isn’t he? He’s probably a world-class loose-head and Cian’s part of the reason for that. He’s been selfless in that regard.
“Just watching him over the last couple of weeks, how he is with Jack Boyle, is priceless to see. So, I’ve the utmost respect. He’s been a legend of our squad for all these years and he continues to be so.”
Healy will want to make history as part of a winning team and Farrell says it’s up to the players to deliver a better performance this time around.
“Honestly, we trained well last week. It’s about converting,” Farrell said.
“When you get punched on the nose, how you react is different to training and preparing well.
“We’ve trained well, we’ve been very honest and open in that regard which tends to focus the mind in training anyway. But it was good last week, so it’s about dealing with the moments in front of our face as the 80 minutes progresses. That’s what we need to get better at.”