Talk about a baptism of fire. Andy Farrell was only in the door when Joe Schmidt’s Ireland touched down in South Africa ahead of a three-Test series in 2016.
When Les Kiss left his longstanding role as defence coach to take up a director of rugby gig with Ulster, Schmidt didn’t have to look too far for a quality replacement.
Farrell was out of a job following England’s disastrous home World Cup. Senior players such as Johnny Sexton and Rory Best gave glowing references on the back of their experiences working with Farrell on the 2013 Lions tour of Australia.
So Farrell got the call. The first of the Fab Four to seek redemption across the Irish Sea, Stuart Lancaster, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt all eventually following.
Farrell’s contract officially began on April…
