Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was happy with his team’s “good start” in their one-sided 29-7 win over Wales but admits they face “the test of all tests” in their next Six Nations clash with France.
The Irish will go to Paris on Saturday in high spirits bidding for a 10th successive Test victory and with a clean bill of health across the squad, according to Farrell.
Indeed Farrell will have a welcome selection headache as British & Irish Lions duo Robbie Henshaw and Iain Henderson are fit after missing the Wales match.
Farrell, speaking before France opened with a 37-10 victory over Italy this past Sunday, knows an away game in Paris against a vibrant French outfit is a vastly different prospect than beating an out-of-sorts Welsh side in front of a sold-out Lansdowne Road crowd.
“It certainly is a tough place to go,” said Farrell. “We are lucky, I suppose, to be on a winning run. There is no doubt about it, it is the test of all tests … at this moment in time.”
Farrell, who has been praised for the expansive game the Irish play with Jamison Gibson-Park at scrumhalf ahead of long-time first-choice Conor Murray, said getting a win on the board against the champions sets them up nicely for Paris.
“You are always hungry to get off to a good start and we have managed to do that,” he said. “Everyone knows how well they [France] are playing.”
Farrell and talismanic captain Johnny Sexton have experienced ups and downs in Paris in the past.
Farrell was assistant coach to predecessor Joe Schmidt when Sexton’s drop goal with the final kick of the game secured the Irish a famous win in 2018.
They went on to secure the Grand Slam that year but in 2020, holding a chance of winning the title on the final day, they lost 35-27 at the Stade de France.
It was not so much the loss that upset Farrell and Sexton but the team’s performance.
“Well, I suppose the great test for this group is we’ve learned a lot of lessons about ourselves in Paris on that night,” said Farrell.
“It was a big game when we could have got across the line for the Six Nations and we didn’t deliver on the big stage.
“I feel the group has grown since then. I suppose the proof will be in the pudding.”
Farrell says despite the dominant performance – he picked out their defence as being the outstanding feature – against Wales there are things which need to be refined before they play France.
“It was a funny old game. The conditions were horrendous, honestly,” said the 46-year-old Englishman referring to the wind and rain.
“We were trying to get some continuity, sometimes I thought we certainly overplayed. We certainly did for the Welsh try anyway.”
Farrell says whatever the decision as to whether Henshaw or Henderson make it into the match-day squad, the conversations with the players involved will not be easy.
“The competition for places in the squad is always going to be taxing on the players, so the conversations are always difficult,” said Farrell.
“It doesn’t really matter whether it’s a British & Irish Lion or a guy that’s done it with his first cap, they are always difficult.”
© Agence France-Presse
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