Six Nations: Ireland boss Andy Farrell insists he has no reason to return to England
‘Why would we? We love it here’: Andy Farrell insists he has no reason to move his family back home for a job in England as he waxes lyrical about Ireland’s ‘united approach’ ahead of the Six Nations showdown
- Farrell was sacked as England defense coach after the 2015 World Cup
- Since then, he has built a reputation as one of the best managers in the game with Ireland.
- The 47-year-old says he has no reason to return to England any time soon.
Andy Farrell hailed Irish rugby’s united thinking and insisted he has no reason to return home for a job in England.
Since being sacked by the RFU after the 2015 World Cup, Farrell has built a reputation as one of the best managers in the game, leading Ireland to number 1 in the world rankings.
England asked questions about bringing him back to Twickenham, but when asked if he wanted to move his family elsewhere, Farrell said: ‘No, why would we? We love it here. We love life here and the rugby is pretty good too.
‘When you make a decision, you commit and that’s it. I’m very lucky it wasn’t just me who got engaged. They were my wife and my children too. We had to pick up sticks, children got away from their friends, etc.
“I will be forever grateful for showing me that commitment.”
Andy Farrell insists he has no reason to return home to look for work in England any time soon
Farrell previously worked as England’s defense coach before leaving after the 2015 World Cup.
Praising the working relationship between club and country in Ireland, he added: ‘The work that (performance director) David Nucifora has done behind the scenes has been fantastic.
‘I guess the way he’s done it’s the envy of world rugby now, isn’t it? The joint approach with the coaches, the unions and the provinces is incredibly powerful.”
This weekend, Farrell welcomed his grandchildren, the sons of England captain Owen, to Dublin. He has given them Ireland jerseys before the St. Patrick’s weekend game as the friendly family rivalry continues.
“My grandchildren are coming over so we’ll try to sneak them into our captain’s career, to see if we can squeeze them out to cheer on Ireland,” he joked. We’ll see how it goes!
Farrell has made three changes to the starting XV that beat Scotland last weekend, with Ryan Baird and Robbie Henshaw recruited as injury cover, and Jamison Gibson-Park at scrum half. Dan Sheehan and Caelan Doris, both injured at Murrayfield, are ready to go.
Speaking about the prospect of securing the Grand Slam in front of a home crowd, Farrell said: “It’s something we’ve talked about since day one.”
Everyone talks about walking towards things and trying to be yourself, but we don’t want to be number 2 at anything. This weekend, we don’t want to be second best.’
Ireland, who take on England on Saturday, have become world number 1 under Farrell.