'I'm over it' - Ireland boss Andy Farrell to review World Cup with squad and move on

Ireland boss Andy Farrell says he's completely over the World Cup and looking forward to the evolution of his team.

The defending Six Nations champions bowed out at the quarter-final stage in France last year, once again failing to reach the last four.

Having beaten reigning and eventual 2023 champions South Africa in the pool stages, Ireland lost 28-24 to New Zealand. They begin their campaign against France in Marseille on 2 February.

Many of the players have spoken about their post-World Cup blues but Farrell was intent on looking ahead to the next iteration of the Ireland squad, moving forward without captain Johnny Sexton for the first time in 15 years.

"I'm over it," the 48-year-old (below) told RTÉ Sport at the tournament launch in Dublin.

"I don't buy into that [talk] neither: is it bittersweet and everything that went on as far as the feeling within the World Cup.

"I was unbelievably proud of how we connected with our fans and did it together.

"That, for me, continues by how we get back on the horse and I'm not saying that will translate to another big [win] in Marseille, I'm not saying that.

"We're talking about being proud about how we go about our business, to want to keep evolving our game.

"The journey continues.

"If you look at what we've got, first game in Marseille, unbelievable stadium, unbelievable atmosphere

"A lot of the Irish who had flights for the semi-final, I heard a lot of them transferred it to Marseille so they're expecting a performance from us.

"We've got to stand up to responsibilities like that. Again, it doesn't guarantee us being successful.

"We've got to show fight and then the rest of the Six Nations is ahead of us.

"You look at what we've got after that, the trip to South Africa and two games