Andy Farrell wants swashbuckling Ireland to make nation proud as fans return

Andy Farrell hopes Ireland’s swashbuckling style of play can make the nation proud ahead of his side’s first sold-out Guinness Six Nations match in two years.

The in-form Irish launch their title quest against defending champions Wales on Saturday afternoon in front of a capacity crowd in Dublin.

Fans have been unable to attend a championship match at the Aviva Stadium due to coronavirus restrictions since a win over the Welsh in round two of the 2020 tournament.

That 24-14 victory came in just the second fixture of Farrell’s reign and his side have made rapid recent progress.

Autumn victories over Japan, New Zealand and Argentina stretched Ireland’s winning run to eight games and were secured with an expansive brand of attacking rugby which has raised expectations among those in attendance.

Head coach Farrell is eager to strengthen the relationship with supporters by building on the entertaining performances.

“It’s massive to us. It’s everything to us,” he said of playing in a full stadium.

The connection for us is huge and we’ve missed that as a team- Andy Farrell on fans returning for the Six Nations

“It makes us tick massively. There’s a reason why you do things and one of those reasons is that we want to connect with the people.

“We want to connect with the people who are watching at home, we want them to be proud of their team with the way that we’re playing the game.

“We also want to connect with the people who are at the ground and who have made the effort to come and watch us and paid their money for their tickets.

“The connection for us is huge and we’ve missed that as a team. We got a taste of it in the autumn and we all saw what the atmosphere was like then.

“For us to continue that connection with the people