Form players may force Andy Farrell's hand

Ireland's touring squad for the trip to New Zealand will be revealed later on today and for the first time in Andy Farrell’s time in charge, he won’t be picking from a confident and dominant Leinster side.

Following their unexpected loss against the confrontational and set-piece dominant Bulls side last week, there will be a lot of soul searching around the capital. It’s always going to be a bit easier as the national team coach if your players come into camp off the back of a successful club season.

Conversely, maybe this is an opportunity for Farrell to make some bold calls and see what he can build ahead of next year and take the next steps towards cultivating a squad that can really have an impact in a major tournament.

As much as people may not want to hear it, I feel Johnny Sexton has proven time and time again that he’s still in control of the out-half jersey and Ireland need him going into next year if they are to challenge for higher honours than disappointing quarter-final knockouts.

Getting the balance right between his game time and leadership of the team, with game time for Joey Carbery and the further development of the Byrne brothers or Billy Burns, will be a huge challenge for Farrell.

He needs to keep them moving in the right direction in terms of developing their game-plan and figuring out how his Leinster contingent got taken apart on the back of some of the shared detail between the Irish and Leinster strategies. The same strategies won’t be good enough to push Ireland to the next level and they must continue to develop.

Luckily, Ireland have midweek games that will allow them to experiment and bring a bigger squad. In this sense, Farrell will be under less pressure because there are less tight calls to