Edwards v Farrell a fascinating subplot to France’s tantalising clash with Ireland

France against Ireland promises to be a blockbuster and without wishing to be overly anglocentric about a match between the two leading sides in Europe, there is an irresistible narrative as Shaun Edwards and Andy Farrell lock horns again. They are two legends of rugby – winning dozens of major titles during their careers – and I have had the privilege of playing under both.

Shaun was the only coach who created a personal relationship between me and defence. If I missed a tackle he almost had a look about him that said: “Why would you do that to me?” Sometimes it is just a case of a bigger man running over a slightly smaller man, but I feared the feedback and the repercussions of not doing my job. Shaun was able to instil that feeling in me. To this day I cannot comprehend how the Rugby Football Union has not written him a blank cheque. His mantra is defence wins you championships and throughout his coaching career he has proven it to be the case.

Similarly, Andy is an unbelievably good motivator. He would have me ready to play Saturday’s game on a Tuesday just by knowing what buttons to press in the team meeting room before going out to train. He got off to a slightly rocky start as Ireland’s head coach, which in many ways was inevitable. He was still learning on the job and it was always going to take time for Ireland to transition after having someone like Joe Schmidt at the helm but to me Ireland look like the most settled team in the tournament. I’m a huge fan of Andy’s. He’s someone who understands his people extremely well which is such an important quality as a head coach who oversees so many players and staff. I get fed up when I hear that good people can’t make good coaches so I’m delighted to see Andy proving