The Ireland international was confirmed yesterday to be the Lions’ head coach for next year’s tour of Australia and will take the day off. I will prepare for work until the end of the Lions series in December.
Yesterday’s press event was Farrell’s first time speaking to the media since Heart of Ireland. Following the defeat against the All Blacks in Paris, he signed a new contract with the IRFU that will keep him in place until the next tournament in 2027, which will also be held Down Under.
And Farrell said the experience further fueled his desire to succeed in Ireland.
“One 100 percent,” he said.
“Literally, after the final whistle, nothing is bittersweet. . . . It’s not bitter, it’s just learning. It’s just life, you know. You just keep at it and try to get better. ”
Coach Farrell reflected on the lessons learned from that defeat and said Ireland must do better in terms of missed chances.
“That can’t happen.” “It’s the small margins, the bounce of the ball, or even just luck,” he said.
“You have to cover more bases and fight harder to ensure success.
“It’s about playing good rugby, playing the fighting rugby that everyone wants to see, and trying to catch up. That’s fine, but you have to keep using it while it lasts. This is a limited time tour.
“Obviously in an international match, minute by minute, second by second, you have to cover all the bases on the different impacts.” Arena, and the highest ranking is the Lions Tour.
“If you can start games well on a regular basis just because you’re strong at set pieces, you’re strong at breakdowns, it’s pretty hard to extrapolate that you’ll be like that every second of every game, but it’s something you should strive for. .”
Although Farrell did not address the issue of captaining Ireland, he did drop a few hints when outlining the qualities he would like to see in a Lions captain.
“There is no (template),” he said.
“He has to be a little bit of everything, right?
“He has to be genuine and he has to be the type of person who not only shows through his actions but also shows that he cares about himself and that he has it all.” The special captains of past Lions tours have been just as good, if not more so.
“It’s the right person for the job at the time. Age doesn’t matter there. Respect. Let’s give respect the right way. He doesn’t even have to be the best player. He leads the group. He has to be the right person, and that’s all that matters.”
Joe Schmidt is the frontrunner to take over as Wallabies manager, but if he is confirmed as manager, it will spark a battle between Farrell and the former manager who beat him at the World Cup.
“There’s no point in asking because he won’t tell you if you approach him anyway! When you’re talking about candidates who have names like Joe or Michael Cheika, those types of characters… , it tells us we’re going to be right,” he said of the Wallabies.
For now, Farrell’s focus is back on Ireland as he prepares to name his team and new captain ahead of next Wednesday’s Six Nations.
And he says his job with the Lions will make him a better coach.
“I’m going to get better as a coach and learn more. That’s why I want to coach in the fall,” he said.
“We’re going to play a huge team in the Southern Hemisphere in the fall and to miss that opportunity would be tragic for me as a coach and for my development. I love coaching. That’s me, the coach. Are you going to learn from this experience? The answer is obvious.”