Andy Farrell focused on 'being the best we can be', not statement win for Ireland

Andy Farrell doesn't believe his Ireland team need a statement performance to show what they are really about.

The Six Nations champions have underwhelmed since dismantling France last February, winning three of six games.

Those victories, against Scotland, South Africa and Argentina last weekend, were all close calls and could have gone either way.

But Farrell, after making seven changes to the team to face Fiji on Saturday, issued a blunt "no" when asked if his team needed to remind Irish rugby fans who they really are.

"It's always about the performance," he told RTÉ Sport.

"It's always about being the best we can be, that will never change.

"You've no right... that the performances are going to be top, top drawer the whole time because of the quality of the opposition. We're just chasing that.

"[We need] better discipline, more continuity in how we play, which leads to more pressure being put on the opposition constantly.

"The same intent we had in the first half [against Argentina], the same desire we had in the last five minutes to see out the game. All in all, there's a mixture of things."

Farrell has handed debuts to 24-year-old Cormac Izuchukwu, the blindside Ulster flanker, and 21-year-old Leinster hooker Gus McCarthy, who made his provincial debut at the end of last season and has gone on to win six Leinster caps and feature for Emerging Ireland twice.

"I suppose Izzy has been in and around the squad now for a while actually," said Farrell of the Offaly man, who has 32 Ulster games under his belt.

"The first Emerging Ireland [tour in 2022] is when we first came across his ability, his athleticism, his point of difference, and since then - I know that's a couple of years ago - the improvement and maturity of his game