Ireland coach Andy Farrell springs no selection surprises for Saturday’s pivotal Rugby World Cup clash with South Africa
As the rain arrived, Farrell and Sexton were speaking after the squad completed their transfer from their base in Tours by TGV and coach to their hotel in Paris. Well, one says Paris, but like all squads based in cheaper hotels on the outer reaches of the French capital in World Rugby’s yellow-pack World Cup, the squad won’t be seeing the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre or any of the sights in the city centre. They may as well be in Milton Keynes.“It’s like every week,” said Farrell.
In declaring their hand, including that 7-1 split on the bench designed to enhance the so-called Bomb Squad effect, Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber were no doubt happy to have sparked the week’s prematch narrative.“That’s what top teams do,” said Farrell. “They’re able to compartmentalise what’s going on to the reality and the big show etc, and it’s something that we’ve got better at over the last couple of years.
“It’s great. It obviously suits them, they know their squad and so do we. I did pose the question to our forwards coaches; would we do a 7-1 split with seven backs and one forward, but they wouldn’t do it,” quipped Farrell.
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