‘It gets tougher’ from now on, says happy Ireland rugby coach Andy Farrell

DUBLIN – Ireland head coach Andy Farrell is not getting carried away by his side having a maximum 10 points after impressive Six Nations wins over France and Italy, saying “it gets tougher from here on in”.

He was speaking after Ireland, featuring six changes from the one that brushed aside France 38-17, eased to a one-sided 36-0 victory over Italy at Lansdowne Road on Feb 11.

It was the first time they had prevented an opponent from scoring in the Northern Hemisphere rugby championship since beating England 17-0 in the then-Five Nations in 1987.

But any talk about becoming the first team to win successive Six Nations Grand Slams means little to Farrell with home matches against Wales and Scotland to come.

In between those fixtures is a trip to Twickenham to play England, who also have Grand Slam aspirations, having beaten Italy and Wales.

“Obviously, with two from two and maximum points etc. 36-0 is a nice scoreline for us,” Farrell said. “It’s a decent start. It gets tougher from here on in.”

Farrell – who will sit out 2025’s Six Nations as he has been named head coach of the British & Irish Lions for the tour of Australia – said parts of the performance had been “clunky and patchy”.

“Sometimes you get a little bit too desperate instead of just boxing away with the stuff that we were doing and doing so well,” said the Englishman, 48. “But the pleasing thing, and it’s pleasing for quite some time now is we’re able to get over those type of setbacks and get on with the job in hand.”

Jack Crowley, Dan Sheehan (twice), Jack Conan, James Lowe and Calvin Nash crossed the line, with the other points coming from the boot of Crowley and Harry Byrne.

After winning 13 lineouts from 13 in France, Ireland won the same number again on Feb 11 with four new faces in the pack. They stole five of Italy’s for good measure and were comfortable in the scrum.

“What was the best part of our game, our set piece by a mile. I thought it was excellent, top drawer... Our scrum was tremendous, and lineout, it backed up last week,” Farrell said.

Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada likened facing Ireland to facing New Zealand in their prime.

“When they got those 19 points of difference (a 19-0 half-time lead), it’s like the All Blacks some years ago. They just go through their basics. They had 100 per cent of their lineout, 100 per cent of their scrum, 100 per cent of the high balls and then they just work the rucks in attack and defence with extreme efficiency,” he said.

“They did what we know they can do. The frustration is more that we couldn’t put a bit more pressure on them like we wanted to... With this level of Ireland, I don’t know how many teams can beat them in the world today.” AFP, REUTERS