- Ireland coach’s message is that ‘Irishness’ matters
- Farrell uses blueprint of Croke Park win in 2007
Andy Farrell hopes he has found what he’s looking for. By inviting the U2 frontman Bono to speak to his players a few days before Ireland face England, and by bringing the former captain Paul O’Connell into camp for the week, Farrell’s message to his squad is clear. Identity matters. “Irishness” is something to be proud of and to be used to their advantage.
If that sounds familiar it is because Eddie Jones, his opposite number on Sunday, has been trying to do the same thing with England since taking over in 2016. Indeed, he writes about it at length in his recently published autobiography and claims that, out of all the countries he was worked with, instilling an identity in his England team has been the hardest.
Written by Gerard Meagher in Dublin
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/20/bono-andy-farrell-ireland-the-edge-england-six-nations under the title “
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