Out of sight isn’t out of mind as far as Andy Farrell is concerned. Ireland’s head coach has stepped aside temporarily to fulfil the same role with the Lions in Australia. However, he will still have a direct input when it comes to team selection ahead of the Test matches against Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday week and seven days later in Lisbon, when Portugal provide the opposition.
Paul O’Connell is in charge of the touring party. He will be assisted by Mike Prendergast (backs), Denis Leamy (defence) and Cullie Tucker (scrum, breakdown) in the absence of Farrell, Simon Easterby, Andrew Goodman and John Fogarty, who are also with the Lions.
The Irish squad is without its Lions contingent and includes 12 uncapped players. The players are preparing at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre before flying out to Georgia next Wednesday. Prendergast, who coached Ireland against England in an A international during the Six Nations, explained that there will be a continual dialogue with regard to who plays in the two summer Tests. Ideally, all 32 players will get a run, but that’s not guaranteed.
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Farrell won’t be micromanaging from Australia. There’s a general blueprint to follow for the interim Irish coaching cadre, supplemented by a couple of phone calls to give training updates.
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Prendergast explained: “Obviously, the senior coaches want to see certain players in certain positions. We fully respect that. We’ll be asked for our opinions as well.
“It’s a bit of a shared job. As we come towards the weekend, there’ll be dialogue over and back [to Australia]. There’s been really good, open conversations among us. Paul [O’Connell] had our heads in the books, learning the terminology over the last couple of weeks. We came in, I suppose, ready, nice and loaded. From that point of view, it’s been very good.
“We’re connecting as well and to be fair to the staff, we’ve been in good dialogue with them (senior coaching group in Australia) over the last couple of weeks through Paul, with Andrew Goodman, with Faz . . . Everything was laid on for us in terms of how we want to play and what we’re looking for.”
Farrell hasn’t issued a big brother diktat per se. There is scope to improvise and add a few playing wrinkles to patterns. The travelling coaching team can observe a meritocracy process in selection from one game to the next.
Prendergast said: “Yes, there’ll be little bits and pieces, absolutely. In terms of, I suppose, the [playing] philosophy, the framework would be very similar. As I said, everything was mapped out for me.
“The biggest challenge for us is just really being able to get our message across. We’re a different voice and that can bring, I suppose, a small bit of excitement as well, in a way. But in terms of how we play, the framework would be generally around the same.”
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It’s a sensible outlook. Ireland are two years out from a World Cup. The opportunity to drill right down in the player succession stakes isn’t commonplace. The tour reunites Prendergast and O’Connell. Their relationship dates back to Young Munster and Munster as players and also their one season together as coaches with Stade Francais.
Another member of the leadership group is Craig Casey, who will captain the touring squad and with whom Prendergast is well versed as coach and player at Munster. He believes the scrumhalf has kicked on over the last 12 months.
“I just think the more exposure, the more game time he played, you could see calmness was coming into the game,” Prendergast said.
“Technically, he’s a very good nine. He’s got a very good kicking game, a very good passing game. I think in terms of his fitness, playing at that level week-in, week-out, he’s made nice steps forward as a player.
“Obviously, his professionalism and his leadership and everything is always growing. I think overall, his calmness and his ability in terms of his decision-making is really pushing on. He’s turning out to be a fine scrumhalf at the moment.”
There is a senior cabal of players, too, upon which Casey can lean. Prendergast said: “We’re fortunate, especially in around that halfback area, there’s good experience there. Stuart McCloskey has been in and around the squad a lot, Ryan Baird [too], so there’s a lot of guys that are experienced.
“We always talk about leadership on the pitch, off the pitch, but when you get together with a new squad, you really look for your leaders to step up and drive us and show the way. And to be fair to them, they’ve been excellent.
“Some of it’s new to me as well and some of the lads are new to me; just working with them over the last few days has been really pleasing. We’ve spoken about connecting with people, staff and players. That’s where we’re aiming to get and it’s been very good so far. I’m very positive.”
Meanwhile, Calvin Nash has shaken off an ankle issue and trained fully with the squad on Tuesday.
