Rory Best column: Time for Ireland to get to grips with Farrell's system
- Published
In his first BBC Sport column, former Ireland captain Rory Best looks at how the side can progress in head coach Andy Farrell's system, how the front row can help them navigate a high-pressure opener against Wales and the potential impact of new forwards coach Paul O'Connell.
Andy Farrell's first task as Ireland head coach was to get his squad used to a new system.
Doing that required a departure from the habits that had become second nature during Joe Schmidt's six-year reign.
The hallmark of Joe's era was the attention to detail, everyone knew exactly what was expected of them at all times.
If you're trying to break away from that and adopt a more off-the-cuff approach you need time together, because old habits die hard.
There were some really strong habits formed under Joe but it was about manipulating the opposition from what we saw in the build-up to the game, whereas Andy is more about trying to play what's in front of you.
The time Andy thought he had to implement those changes was cut short, because things more important than Ireland's continuity were happening in the world. Nonetheless, it is a significant mitigating factor, and should be considered when dissecting what we know about his time in charge so far.
So what can we expect to see Andy do differently in 2021?
Andy Farrell's approach requires players to lose some of the habits they built during Joe Schmidt's time as head coach
His Six Nations squad is, to me, a strong indicator that he now wants to find consistency in his selection.
Eleven players made their senior debuts last year, but we won't see that level of chopping and changing anymore.
The best way to implement change is by getting your senior players used to the system, allowing them to get comfortable and then over time it becomes automatic.
As Ireland look towards perfecting their approach, don't expect a vast amount of changes from week to week.
No fear in exposing O'Toole to international rugby
Last year saw several players go from prospect to important player in just a few games, none more so than Caelan Doris.
He has done a very good job so far in a green jersey, he has rolled up his sleeves and has tried to be there all the time in tough games.
Although he only has seven caps, he is already an important figure in the team and his absence will be felt against Wales but if there's one thing Ireland are not lacking, it's back-row depth.
At the moment, there seems to be more concern from those outside the camp over the front of the scrum.
Ulster prop Tom O'Toole is yet to make his senior Ireland debut
There have been a few eyebrows raised over props selected in this squad, particularly Tom O'Toole, who some feel is not ready to take the leap into international rugby.
Ultimately, maybe he is not yet 100% ready, but that shouldn't deter Ireland from putting him into games.
When Cian Healy came through in 2009, was he the best or second best loose-head in Ireland? Probably not. But you could see that he was going to be, so he got experience by coming off the bench as a young man who really benefitted from getting put into that environment.
Andrew Porter can play both sides which gives you some room to play with. There's part of me that would like to see either Porter or Healy at loose-head, Tadhg Furlong at tight-head with Tom O'Toole on the bench.
Porter gives you the luxury that if Furlong goes down early at tight-head, you don't have to play O'Toole for 60 or 70 minutes.
That will let Tom get 10 or 20 minutes off the bench and he is very much an impact player, if Ireland want to play the way they are talking about playing, they need explosive players like Tom.
Wales game of immense importance
It is hard to put into words how much pressure is going to be put on Sunday's game in Cardiff.
This is the first year for a long time that people might have reasonably low expectations for Wales, Farrell's problems in 2020 paled in comparison to those of his Welsh counterpart Wayne Pivac.
For Ireland this means if you lose it might feel like the end of the world, while the public will likely see a win as an expectation rather than an achievement.
Make no mistake that playing Wales in Cardiff, crowd or no crowd, is an incredibly tough game.
If Ireland can win, then get the better of France in Dublin a week later, all of a sudden they have Italy and Scotland and the momentum could build.
The flipside of that is if they slip up against Wales, the French game becomes enormous.
As a player in that environment, you feel that pressure building on you.
Shrewd O'Connell appointment could bear early fruit
The familiar face of Paul O'Connell has made a welcome return to the Ireland set-up. Bringing him in as forwards coach makes a lot of sense on a number of levels.
If you are looking for areas of improvement, the line-out and the breakdown are the most glaringly obvious for Ireland.
When he was playing there were few players that operated better than Paulie at the line-out, while his work at the breakdown was second to none.
Best succeeded O'Connell as Ireland captain in 2016
But even if you look past the playing aspect, his introduction is likely to make a huge impression.
At this level, you don't get a lot of time for coaching, so it becomes a lot about man-management, motivation and mentorship that you instil in the players.
Paulie is very articulate and passionate when he speaks, which makes you as a player really want to buy into what he's saying - because it means a lot to him.
I think, and hope, he will have an immediate impact. But even if we don't see it straight away it is important to remember that he remains a relatively inexperienced coach who needs time to grow into the role of coaching the best players in Ireland.
There is plenty for this Ireland team to prove, but there are also more than enough green shoots for us to be going into the Six Nations with a real degree of optimism.