Ireland's 41-10 win against Japan at Aviva Stadium won’t live long in the memory, unless your name is Tom Farrell.
The Munster centre completed one of Irish rugby’s most unlikely stories this afternoon, as he won his first Irish cap of a rollercoaster career.
The 32-year-old - the oldest man to make his Ireland debut since Nathan White in 2015 – played the full 80 minutes on his first cap, and gave a good account of himself in an otherwise sloppy Irish win, making 11 carries for 38 metres, and throwing three offloads as he helped his side to a six-try win.
Going off form, his Test debut shouldn't have been the least bit surprising. Munster’s player of the season in 2024/25 scored 10 tries last term, and has already started this season with a try and a man of the match display against Leinster, playing rugby that Ireland coach Andy Farrell eventually had to recognise.
Better late than never for the Dublin native, who says his first taste of Test rugby was everything he had hoped it would be.
"Massive, massive amount of pride to be honest," Farrell said, after being presented with his first cap in the changing room.
"Particularly during the anthems, I was trying to catch eyes with some of my family.
"But yeah, it was probably, what's the word, relief. Just to finally get the monkey off the back I suppose, and to be able to say I play for my country now."
His story has been well-told, but it’s worth repeating.
After failing to make the grade in Leinster’s academy, he was a key man for Lansdowne in their 2015 All Ireland League success, before a move to English Championship club Bedford Blues provided the springboard for a return to Ireland with Connacht.
His first couple of seasons in Galway were impressive to the extent that he was called into the Ireland squad for the 2019 Six Nations, but couldn’t secure a cap, and injuries then disrupted his next two years at Dexcom Stadium.
It came as a major surprise during the 2023/24 season to find out he wasn't being offered a contract extension by Connacht, a decision the province have been left to rue.
As one door closed, another opened. Antoine Frisch’s decision to break contract from Munster left them scrambling for a new centre, and they took a punt on Farrell, whose career would never be the same again.
"I probably didn't know where I was going at that stage," he says, looking back on being let go by Connacht.
"And then I got a late call from Munster around April or May I think it was. Probably a bit of a lifeline.
"The last season went brilliantly for me and then I managed to get two or three games with my belt this year and propel my chances.
"I was very close to going abroad and then I was literally about to sign when I got a call from Munster. That put a spanner in the works, a good spanner."
While Farrell was expected to be on the bench for his debut this afternoon, injury to Garry Ringrose saw him promoted to the starting side, partnering Robbie Henshaw in the Ireland midfield.
The 12.40pm kick-off did little for the spectacle as a whole, but for the new cap it was a shorter window for any pre-match jitters.
"I actually didn't get too emotional to be honest. I probably got the emotion out of the way during the earlier part of the week when I knew I was selected.
"And then after that it was just more just to enjoy the moment really.
"The early part of the morning was quite similar [to Munster] to be honest. Obviously the early kick-off was a bit unusual. It was literally breakfast and gone, which probably worked in my favour because I didn't have too much time to think about it. And probably a bit of a throwback to your underage days where you just boots-on and away you go."
"I'm not concerned...there’s no concern."
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 8, 2025
Irish head coach Andy Farrell has full faith in the side’s line-out preparations despite a number of malfunctions in the victory over Japan. pic.twitter.com/WcYKNpp2wg
Having waited nearly seven years to get back into an Irish squad, let alone his whole career waiting for his cap, the centre was determined to make the most of his week.
"I was a little bit emotional at the start when I knew I was going to be playing. Just chatting to my wife and my family. It was brilliant.
"And then Faz [Andy Farrell] has a lovely tradition since he became head coach. He invites families in for a jersey presentation on the Thursday. So, both my parents, my wife and my little daughter came out to the Shelbourne on Thursday, which was a lovely touch. Faz had a couple of words to say. And he presents me with my first jersey. So, it was special.
"The last time I was on camp was 2019, and I probably let the opportunity pass me by a bit. I probably wasn't ready for the intensity and the demands of international rugby and probably let the opportunity slip by.
"But once I got the nod there two weeks ago, I was pretty determined to leave my mark, essentially. I wasn't perfect today, but there's some good things out there."
