Ireland boss Andy Farrell says ability to ‘roll with punches’ key for World Cup

Andy Farrell believes Ireland must remain calm and “roll with the punches” to realise their potential at the Rugby World Cup.

Former dual code international Farrell is preparing for his first global tournament as head coach having previously been involved as a player and an assistant coach.

Six Nations champions Ireland have topped the world rankings for more than a year and arrived in France on Thursday among the favourites to go all the way.

Englishman Farrell has welcomed setbacks during his tenure to challenge his players and prevent them becoming fazed on the biggest stage.

“The key learnings are the scenarios that we’ve tried to put ourselves through in the last few years,” the 48-year-old said of his previous World Cup experiences in both rugby union and rugby league.

“You hear me say constantly ‘best laid plans and all that’, it’s 100 per cent that at a World Cup.

“The ones that get flustered with all that because they’re not ready for all different types of permutations are the ones that lose the plot.

“The key to progressing in a competition like this is staying calm, keeping your feet under you and making sure that you just roll with the punches and be the best version of yourself no matter what happens and have no-excuse mentality.

“We’ve tried to put ourselves in those type of positions before and we know what’s coming through.”

Bonjour, Tours!