ANDY FARRELL DEFENDS DECISION TO BRING MAJORITY OF IRELAND BACKROOM TEAM TO THE LIONS

Andy Farrell has defended his decision to include three members of Ireland’s backroom team on his British and Irish Lions coaching ticket.

The Ireland boss, who is currently on sabbatical to oversee the tour Down Under, insisted the experience will make the national team ‘bigger, better and stronger’ down the line.

Simon Easterby, John Fogarty and Andrew Goodman will all link up with Farrell ahead of the summer’s three-Test series against Joe Schmidt‘s Wallabies, with Paul O’Connell the only senior member of the coaching team who will remain with Ireland ahead of the July development tour of Georgia and Portugal.

Farrell’s decison drew some criticism on Wednesday with suggestions that Ireland’s summer plans – seen as a major development milestone for this current squad ahead of the 2027 World Cup – are being overlooked in favour of this looming expedition to Australia.

But Farrell feels the experience of this Lions series will benefit him, the coaches and the Irish players who are enlisted.

Andy Farrell defends Lions decision

‘First and foremost, it gives me great pleasure that the IRFU are on the same thinking of where I’m at,’ he said.

‘They are proud and privileged that their coaches, some of them, get the opportunity to take this on board and put their Lions hat on.’

‘It’s one of the reasons why I jumped at the chance as well, the fact that it’s going to grow us all, every coach that’s part of it, every part of the high-performance staff and up to 80 people that are on the tour. It’s going to make us all bigger, better, stronger for the future.

‘And then the dynamics of what happens over there, in regards to Emerging Ireland tours, ‘A’ games, coaching staff being cohesive, a similar type of way of playing, all being connected throughout the year, etc, the dynamics works well.’

Confirmation that Easterby would be involved in the Lions setup was a source of surprise, given that the interim Ireland head coach had previously been pencilled by the IRFU to oversee this summer’s development tour.

O’Connell will now step up, with the forwards coach in the process of assembling a backroom team, which is set to feature Mike Prendergast, Seán O’Brien and Jimmy Duffy.

And Easterby insisted that his late Lions call-up won’t hinder Ireland’s summer plans.

‘I’ve just shifted my focus a little bit. I’lll still be involved in that planning, handing that over,’ he said. ‘That’s still a really important part of Faz’ and my roles in terms of making sure that is a success and we get the right people on that tour.’

‘There’s a little bit of work still to do there with David Humphreys, Paul, and getting that sorted before we start to focus fully on the Lions.

‘Probably one of the greatest opportunities you can have as a coach would be to coach the Lions.

‘We had a couple of chats around what that might look like afterwards if this became a reality or not. Until I had a conversation with Faz, we were always preparing for that tour.

‘The way we looked at the selection in the ‘A’ game, the cohort we brought in throughout the Six Nations and bringing continuity to that group, we always had one eye on that tour in the summer to Georgia and Portugal.

‘I don’t think it makes it more difficult. Faz went away during the Six Nations and it allowed me to step up for that period, gain other experiences.’

‘The opportunity to keep growing the experience as a coaching group but also some of the coaches of the provinces getting a chance at an international level will stand to the group and stand to those coaches.

‘For us, it’s about seeing the opportunity as opposed to the challenge.’

Meanwhile, IRFU performance director David Humphreys has hailed the Irish coaches who will go on Lions special ops this summer.

‘On behalf of the IRFU, I would like to congratulate Simon (Easterby), John (Fogarty) and Andrew (Goodman) on their respective selections for the forthcoming British & Irish Lions tour to Australia,’ Humphreys said.

‘It is a huge statement of faith in their skillsets and standing within the wider game, and I have no doubt that they will contribute greatly to a successful Lions tour.

‘Their appointments mark significant milestones in their coaching careers, as it will for Vinny Hammond and Aled Walters, who were previously confirmed earlier this year.

‘They will proudly follow in the footsteps of a long list of Irish coaches who have represented Ireland previously with the Lions coaching and management teams. We wish them all the very best of luck.’