Farrell Undistracted by Lions Role Ahead of Wallabies Clash

Ireland’s match against Australia on Saturday will be Andy Farrell’s final game before he shifts his attention to the British and Irish Lions. The Autumn Nations Series fixture between Ireland and Australia is scheduled for Saturday, 30 November, at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, with a kick-off time of 15:10 GMT. Coverage will be available on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, alongside live text and commentary on the BBC Sport website and app. Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has stated that his forthcoming temporary assignment with the British and Irish Lions has not served as a diversion leading up to this week’s Autumn Nations Series encounter with Australia. The Test match on Saturday in Dublin will be Farrell’s last before he temporarily departs to coach the Lions in their series against Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies next summer. Farrell served as Schmidt’s assistant for three-and-a-half years during Schmidt’s tenure as Ireland’s coach, prior to the Englishman assuming the head coaching role after the 2019 Rugby World Cup. When questioned about his approach to the anticipation surrounding Saturday’s game, Farrell remarked: “I won’t be shying away from it,” adding, “We’ll use everything that we’ve got, obviously. So will they. There’s no doubt. It’s an exciting last game for everyone.” Farrell, who is to be succeeded by defence coach Simon Easterby for the forthcoming Six Nations tournament, further commented: “It’s not been a distraction for me or the squad. The only thing that matters is this week.” Farrell aims to conclude his current coaching period with a victory before commencing his Lions responsibilities, following Ireland’s recovery from their All Blacks defeat with wins over Argentina and Fiji. In contrast, Australia arrives in Dublin having experienced a disappointing 27-13 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday. Under Schmidt, who took over from Eddie Jones in January, the Wallabies had previously defeated England and Wales in this autumn campaign, despite a challenging Rugby Championship where they lost five out of six matches. When questioned about Schmidt’s influence on the Wallabies, Farrell stated: “I think it’s progressing exactly how we thought it would do,” adding, “He’s taken his team by playing a good few players first and foremost and took a little bit of pain but he’s done the right thing for the squad, so he’s got a good opinion and they’re reaping their reward for that at this moment in time.” He continued, “They’ve always got the athletes. He’s trying to find out about them more personally I would have thought over the last six months. He’s got that now and he’s got them playing really good rugby.” Farrell encountered Schmidt in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, where the New Zealander was a member of the All Blacks’ coaching staff. Schmidt, a New Zealander, guided Ireland to three Six Nations titles, including the 2018 Grand Slam, and their initial victory over the All Blacks during his six-year period. Before his first international coaching role, Schmidt led Leinster to two European Cups. Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey observed the clear improvement of the Wallabies under the 59-year-old coach. The 25-year-old, who scored his first Irish try in Saturday’s decisive 52-17 victory against Fiji, stated: “I actually never worked with Joe – I was under-20s and that was probably the closest I got to a Joe Schmidt session,” He continued, “But I think the lads have a lot of respect for him for what he did for Leinster rugby, for what he did for Irish rugby. It was very, very special times when he was the coach so there’s a lot of respect there and I think we probably know what’s coming with Australia.” He concluded, “He’s going to have them psyched up, you can see the improvement in them already. It’s going to be a colossal Test match and they’ve got a few freak players as well, so it should be a good one.”