Having spent a few years in a relatively stress free position, Andy Farrell now cuts the figure of a man feeling the pressure. Despite winning a second consecutive Six Nations title back in March; the Summer and Autumn test windows, with a lack of fresh faces in camp, has brought a new wave of discourse to the fore.
The debate about capping new players probably would not gather the same momentum had Farrell himself not said Ireland do not have “thousands of players” to call on. But, this is not about total playing numbers on the island, it’s about looking at your rivals and asking if you’re doing enough.
Farrell has brought seven new players into his his fifteen for the Fiji game, with Gus McCarthy and Cormac Izuchukwu set to win their first caps and Sam Prendergast making his first start for Ireland. Still the prevailing narrative around this November has been about the rigidity of Farrell's selection.
For this writer, the debate about expanding your squad boils down to three questions:
- Were Ireland right to target the Six Nations? Yes
- Was touring South Africa the correct decision? No
- Can you evolve and win? Yes
It would be massively foolish to overlook Ireland’s focus on winning a Six Nations title and sweep it under the same carpet. That was an achievement that deserves recognition, and although you could argue for a few more faces in the training squad - as Ireland boasted the smallest official squad in the tournament - it should be separated from the later windows, even if minor critiques can be raised.
It’s in the Summer tour of South Africa and Autumn Nations Series tests where Ireland could have furthered the player pool. The 2023/2024 season started in early August and finished in mid July, it was the longest season ever. Why the IRFU and Andy Farrell chose to tour South Africa after this long season baffles many. Why not tour a smaller nation, like Japan, and split the minutes of your key starters with a few new caps? South Africa did this either side of games against Ireland, as did France in Argentina; while New Zealand rotated across the year.
The raw numbers makes the argument for experimentation better than words ever could. Since the 2021 Lions tour, Ireland have handed out 14 new caps at time of writing. By contrast, France will have capped 17 by Friday midnight. When you consider France were one score off dethroning Ireland in the Six Nations and managed to overturn New Zealand on home soil, it would be a strange argument to say they are wrong and Ireland are right.
Andy Farrell did the vast majority of his experimenting in the first two years of his tenure, before tightening the ship and focusing on the 2023 World Cup. We now find ourselves twelve months removed from that rugby showpiece, and Farrell has diluted the squad as opposed to evolving it.
As you can see from the graph, Ireland kept pace with the other nations’ evolution back in 2020 and 2021 - albeit with the caveat of the Covid 19 pandemic changing the face of the sport. Fast forward to 2024, and Ireland trail their rival nations in new caps. Is that win now mode an excuse? Is it possible to do both?
Ireland are set to only hand out four news caps this year, unlike France who have 17 new players and South Africa who have capped 12
Thankfully it was our newest rivals who proved what can be done. South Africa is the home to the URC’s newest entrants and the reigning World Cup winners, but also a model on how best to maximise talent in the country.
One year on from their glory in Paris, Rassie’s men claimed a coveted Rugby Championship title back in September, recording 5 wins from their 6 games. It’s a record not too dissimilar from Ireland’s 4 from 5 in the Six Nations en route to glory. With mid-summer friendlies against Wales and Portugal, Rassie Erasmus handed debuts to 11 players across those games, with Cameron Hanekom set to become new cap number 12 this weekend.
In that context, Ireland’s four debuts feels skinny. Sure they didn’t have a test match against any Tier 2 nations prior to this weekend, but the ease of victory against Wales and Italy in the spring could have been a chance to test the squad depth by another man or two.
Furthermore, the world champions have capped 52 different players this year. For Ireland, that number is just 38.
If South Africa can do it, why can’t Ireland?
As time passes and Ireland’s squad remains predictable, it feels like Andy Farrell has handed the general public this stick to beat him with. This year will end with no games against Tier 2 nations, a summer tour against the Boks, and a minimalistic 35 man squad for the November, where just 4 debuts will be expected. It’s far from maximising the talent.
Provincial fans, quite rightly, will point to the URC form of the provinces in recent years as means to why Ireland could, and should blood more talent. Since 2022, the following players are either uncapped by Ireland, or have not featured:
Munster:
Josh Wycherley, Diarmuid Barron, Niall Scannell, Jean Kleyn**, Tom Ahern, Edwin Edogbo, Alex Kendellen, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes, Ben Healy**, Antoine Frisch**, Shane Daly, Mike Haley
Connacht:
Denis Buckley, Peter Dooley, Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungier, Sam Illo, Niall Murray, Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray, Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Sean Jansen, Paul Boyle, Ben Murphy, Tom Farrell, David Hawkshaw, Cathal Forde, Tom Daly, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Shayne Bolton
Ulster:
Andy Warwick, Eric O’Sullivan, Scott Wilson, Marty Moore**, Alan O’Connor, Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu, Dave McCann, Nathan Doak, John Cooney, Aidan Morgan, Billy Burns, Jude Postlethwaite, Stewart Moore, Ethan McIlroy
Leinster:
Jack Boyle, Michael Milne, Ross Molony**, Will Connors, Scott Penny, James Culhane, Cormac Foley, Luke McGrath, Charlie Tector, Tommy O’Brien, Rob Russell, Liam Turner
When you list the options like so, depth doesn’t look so frightening. That list alone contains multiple provincial vice captains, former internationals, and a bunch of players who have shone at every opportunity from URC to Europe, and a few on the Emerging Ireland tour. The stark reality is that the goalpost for selection has well and truly moved from where it was before, and for many of the guys above in their mid twenties, they will be leapfrogged for younger options when their chance comes back around.
Capping a handful more players will not cheapen the jersey, but it might lead to an extra loss or two per season. Is that really as scary as we have painted it in our mind's eye? I really don’t think so, not when the talent is so high within the four provinces. Four strong provinces; regardless of what Farrell said in last week’s pressers.
Now, as 2024 looks to wind down with Ireland walking casually as rivals speed away in the race to evolve, the pressure is no longer about results; but about both results and depth. Ireland has the depth, anyone who watches the URC would be mad to disagree; but it is perfectly valid to expect the coaches to test this depth.
Not just to tick the box with an Emerging Ireland tour, but with squad call ups and test debuts. Otherwise, the longer this trend goes on, the more likely the outcome Andy Farrell will be bitten by the plague that hampered Joe Schmidt and Eddie O’Sullivan.
That said, talk of a 2025 summer tour with games against Georgia, Portugal and Romania is very welcome and will help introduce some new faces into the squad while Ireland's best players are in Australia with the Lions.
Still, no one wants a squad where it is harder to get out of than to get into it.
