Lions job no distraction before Wallabies game - Farrell

Ireland's game with Australia on Saturday will be Farrell's last before he switches focus to the Lions

Autumn Nations Series: Ireland v Australia

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 30 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, live text and commentary on the BBC Sport website and app

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says his upcoming secondment with the British and Irish Lions has not been a distraction going into this week's Autumn Nations Series match against Australia.

Saturday's Test in Dublin will be Farrell's last before he temporarily steps aside to lead the Lions' series against Joe Schmidt's Wallabies next summer.

Farrell spent three-and-a-half years as Schmidt's assistant during the latter's stint in charge of Ireland before the Englishman took the reins after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

"I won't be shying away from it," Farrell said when asked how he will approach the hype ahead of Saturday's game.

"We'll use everything that we've got, obviously. So will they. There's no doubt. It's an exciting last game for everyone."

Farrell, who will be replaced by defence coach Simon Easterby for next year's Six Nations, added: "It's not been a distraction for me or the squad. The only thing that matters is this week."

Farrell is aiming to sign off before starting his Lions role with another win after Ireland bounced back from their All Blacks defeat with victories over Argentina and Fiji.

Australia, in contrast, arrive in Dublin on the back of a disappointing 27-13 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Under Schmidt, who replaced Eddie Jones in January, they had already beaten England and Wales in this autumn campaign after a miserable Rugby Championship in which they lost five out of six matches.

"I think it's progressing exactly how we thought it would do," Farrell said when asked about Schmidt's impact on the Wallabies.

"He's taken his team by playing a good few players first and foremost and took a little bit of pain but he's done the right thing for the squad, so he's got a good opinion and they're reaping their reward for that at this moment in time.

"They've always got the athletes. He's trying to find out about them more personally I would have thought over the last six months. He's got that now and he's got them playing really good rugby."

Farrell came up against Schmidt in last year's World Cup quarter-final when the New Zealander was part of the All Blacks coaching ticket

New Zealander Schmidt led Ireland to three Six Nations titles (including the 2018 Grand Slam) and a first win over the All Blacks during his six-year tenure.

Prior to his first international job, Schmidt led Leinster to two European Cups and Ireland scrum-half Craig Casey says the Wallabies have clearly improved under the 59-year-old.

"I actually never worked with Joe - I was under-20s and that was probably the closest I got to a Joe Schmidt session," said the 25-year-old, who scored his first Irish try in Saturday's resounding 52-17 win over Fiji.

"But I think the lads have a lot of respect for him for what he did for Leinster rugby, for what he did for Irish rugby. It was very, very special times when he was the coach so there's a lot of respect there and I think we probably know what's coming with Australia.

"He's going to have them psyched up, you can see the improvement in them already. It's going to be a colossal Test match and they've got a few freak players as well, so it should be a good one."