Andy Farrell: Joey Carbery given feedback about omission

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell says Joey Carbery knows what he needs to do to get back into the national squad.

The Munster out-half's omission was the major talking point when Farrell named his squad for the opening rounds of the Six Nations last week, falling behind Ross Byrne and Jack Crowley in the pecking order at number 10.

Carbery has earned 37 caps for Ireland since making his debut in 2016, and has generally been the next man in on the occasions that Johnny Sexton has been injured or rested.

It's the first time in Andy Farrell's tenure that he has been left out of a squad since returning from his long-term ankle injury in 2021.

And the head coach says he's given the 27-year-old "feedback" on what he has to do to get back into the mix.

"Obviously there's some feedback that has gone Joey's way," Farrell said at the launch of the 2023 Guinness Six Nations.

"Obviously he was upset enough, because it means a lot to him to be picked for Ireland. But obviously he’s had the feedback, like all the rest of the guys as well."

And the Ireland coach (below) said while he understands Carbery's disappointment, he's eager to give both Byrne and Crowley an opportunity to prove themselves.

"At the same time, whilst Joey goes ahead and works hard on that and tries hard to get back in the room there’s another guy there in Ross [Byrne] that’s had plenty of feedback over the last couple of years. We think he’s progressed significantly with his game in that regard so therefore he gets an opportunity to see if that can transfer to the international stage.

"Then obviously Jack [Crowley] is somebody that’s had a short period of time in camp with us and we’ve seen him progress very quickly. We’re giving him a bit more time to see if he can reach