The makers of South Park summed up the challenge for anyone attempting a satirical cartoon back in the early 2000s when they put together an episode entitled ‘The Simpsons already did it’.
ver the course of 25 minutes the characters kept trying to come up with new ideas for jokes, only to realise that the concept had been tried and delivered by the long-standing staple. In the end they concluded that imitation would have to do.
Until this month, Andy Farrell’s achievements as Ireland coach could be dismissed similarly. Joe Schmidt already did it. Saturday’s win in Wellington firmly changed all that.
The Englishman was alongside his old Kiwi boss when the team beat New Zealand twice, won the 2018 Grand Slam in style, claimed a first win over the Springboks on South African soil and won a series in Australia.
Although they ran aground in 2019, the levels Ireland hit under Schmidt were so consistently high that following him was a very difficult task.
Despite his final-year struggles, Schmidt signed off with a 72.73 per cent win record and a collection of titles and individual wins that are unrivalled in the history of Irish rugby.
At the end of his third full season, Farrell has now got his signature achievement with a series win in New Zealand. What’s more, Ireland’s incredible run of form means that his win ratio is now better than even his predecessor.
If Schmidt was of a mind, he could remind us that Covid-19 has impacted his successor’s regime to a large degree and point out that these were Farrell’s first games on tour.
Of course, the New Zealander has enough on his plate to worry about what’s going on in Ireland as he formally takes his place as part of the most under-pressure coaching ticket in the game ahead of the tour of South Africa early next month.
The All Blacks are an example in how continuity candidates could go wrong and two-and-a-half years into a World Cup cycle the normal standard-bearers look bereft of a coherent plan.
Farrell had long known he would be the next man in when the IRFU announced he’d succeed Schmidt the morning after Ireland had cleaned up at the World Rugby awards.
By the time he was ready to step into the job, the former England dual-code international was staring at a very different vista.
Whatever aura Ireland had built under Schmidt had been broken by his son’s England side at the Aviva Stadium and then smashed into smithereens in a World Cup warm-up game at Twickenham. Japan stamped on the remnants for good measure, before the All Blacks came and swept them away.
So, Farrell inherited a broken team and a dressing-room run by an ageing group of senior players who held huge sway.
Ireland’s strengths had been turned into weaknesses during that devastating 12-month period and, while he spoke openly about his desire to get a more powerful and dynamic player into his team, the coach seemed to be struggling to get his message across in that first 18 months.
Many were frustrated by the way he leaned into the senior player group.
Rory Best retired, Rob Kearney was moved on but Johnny Sexton was handed the captain’s armband in a move that somehow increased his influence over a team he’d been running for almost a decade.
Farrell figured there was life in the old dogs, deciding a change of kennel was more important.
At his first training session in the Algarve the speakers blared out pop song ‘Old Town Road’ as the players warmed up. If one thing encapsulated the lightening of the mood it was that.
Video analysis sessions were shortened and made more dynamic at Ireland’s new facility in Abbotstown, the hotel was reserved for team bonding and winding down.
Slowly, the new faces began to appear. For all that Farrell has faced the criticism of being conservative, six of the starting XV in Sunday’s final Test win were handed their debuts by the coach.
Arguably his most impressive trait has been his eye for a player who may not be pulling up trees at provincial level, but has the capacity to play the style of game he wants Ireland to play.
Jamison Gibson-Park, who was handed his first start away to England in November 2020 to much consternation, has gone from Leinster’s second-choice No 9 to one of the top three in the game.
After this tour, Jeremy Loughman, Kieran Treadwell and Ciarán Frawley return to their provinces having had their potential boosted by Ireland involvement and perhaps the greatest example of all is the move of Andrew Porter from tighthead to loose – a decision which has weaponised Ireland’s tight-five.
Along with attack coach Mike Catt, Farrell has developed a scintillating brand of rugby that sees Ireland play to a defined structure that causes chaos for the opposition.
He’s borrowed heavily from Leinster in terms of players and tactics, but there’s nothing new in rugby and they’ve made light of the short preparation windows to deliver an attacking game that tore the All Blacks to shreds this month.
Adding Paul O’Connell to the party has made a big impact, but Simon Easterby and John Fogarty deserve credit too.
Ireland’s set-piece and defence were under huge pressure after Test one, but by the end of the series they were on top in all areas.
Mentally, they’ve grown. The 2019 World Cup review listed ‘performance anxiety’ as one of Ireland’s ills, while Farrell himself said the team “went into their shells” when they underperformed against France in the 2020 Six Nations decider.
On Saturday, they managed to wrest momentum back from the most dangerous team of all and that showed huge progress. Bringing Gary Keegan on board has helped, but Farrell has played a leading role.
Consider that the coach was facing calls for his job midway through the 2021 Six Nations. Defeats to Wales and France exposed serious concerns, but they’ve only lost twice – away to France and New Zealand – since.
From being under pressure back then, he’s now a man in demand and performance director David Nucifora has a major job on his hands to stave off interest from England, the Lions and elsewhere.
When you pull off something as special as a three-Test Series win over the All Blacks, then that’s the inevitable chat that will follow.
Farrell has lived his entire adult life in the world of professional sport and won’t worry too much about speculation. He knows how high his stock is and is fully aware of how quickly things can change.
He knows too that his success can be undermined quite quickly by any number of events.
Ireland still don’t have an adequate back-up plan if Sexton goes down, while the gap between Tadhg Furlong and Andrew Porter and the field remains big.
Managing the New Zealand scrum and power-game is a different kettle of fish to taking on France and South Africa – both of whom are on the schedule between now and the World Cup.
While there’s a fear that he’s borrowed from his future to secure this success, he’d argue it’s been worth it. Ireland have never successfully managed a four-year cycle before, so we don’t know what it looks like.
Farrell is determined to do it his way and after last weekend’s incredible performance and signature success he is entitled to look ahead with great confidence.
This achievement and the way it was secures stands on its own two feet.
