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Andy Farrell: 'We got told we needed to dampen them down and rightly so'

Updated / Saturday, 21 Feb 2026 18:12
21 February 2026; Ireland head coach Andy Farrell before the Guinness 6 Nations Rugby Championship match between England and Ireland at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, England. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Andy Farrell

Andy Farrell refused to rank Ireland's win over England preferring instead to savour the moment as his side crushed the hosts at the home of rugby.

It was his side's sixth victory from their last seven Six Nations clashes with the Red Rose and casts a new light on his team in 'transition', as a mixture of new blood and more experienced players blended to produce a memorable 42-21 victory, up there among the great Irish performances of any generation.

"I don't know, I suppose we'll have a good think about that whilst we're reminiscing later on this evening," the head coach told reporters after the game.

"But it's a special day, 100%, to come here and perform like that. We'd obviously be delighted with that.

"But even more so than that for us, I thought the respect that the lads show for one another out there on the field was immense.

"The respect that they show for the jersey and what it meant to them and the respect for the Irish people really.

"To learn some lessons and grow as a group, as a team, was the overriding feeling for me."

England were smarting from a 31-20 defeat to Scotland last weekend, were celebrating captain Maro Itjoe's 100th cap and Henry Pollock's first start, however, the chariot never got up and running.

After an initial period of containment, Ireland ran in five tries and kept the hosts at arm's length.

The three first-half scores from Jamison Gibson-Park, Rob Baloucoune and Tommy O'Brien all originated in the Irish half, while the Dan Sheehan and Jamie Osborne tries came after patient phase-play.

"Well, we got told we needed to dampen them down and rightly so because we were here two years ago when England lost to Scotland and they played outstandingly well and played some outstanding rugby on that day as well," said the 50-year-old.

"So there's a lesson to be learned there, for us. But more so the lesson from Paris [the defeat to France in round one] and us growing as a group is the key.

"It's about doing the things that you promised each other that you were going to do and be free, get out of your own way and just let go and play the game that's in front of you and have no distractions and we did that, and what that accumulated to was some fantastic rugby that was broken field stuff.

"We got them on the break, made line breaks from deep in our own half and ground it out as well on their line.

"So it catered for a bit of everything really but I suppose the telling parts of Stu McCluskey chasing back Marcus [Smith] and being able to put him in touch just shows the fight.

"And also the Rob Baloucoune one on the far side just shows the fight and the spirit that these lads have got for one another and what it means to them."

An estimated 15,000 Irish fans were among the 81,953 at Twickenham and the visiting hordes made themselves heard throughout as their side brought England's nine-game winning run at home to a juddering halt.

"Honestly, it does [feel great]," said Farrell, whose side next face Wales on Friday week (6 March).

"We just had the Taoiseach in the changing rooms there. We spoke us a group after that as well. It is special.

"Honestly, I said it to the lads, I didn't care whether we won or lost today, just whether we grew as a group because we know where we want to go to and it just so happens that to the people of Ireland that winning does matter and it brings a bit of joy on everyone's face.

"For them, I mean the crowd, the people that turned up, it was immense. I hope everyone at home is just as proud as well."

Ireland lost replacement Jack Conan from the bench due to illness before kick-off and James Lowe appeared to suffer a groin injury in the 18th minute.

"It didn't look too good," he said of the Leinster winger, who was replaced by the excellent O'Brien.

"It is what it is. We said during the week that the balance of the squad as far as the subs and all that.

"It worked out pretty nicely in the end."

Watch France v Italy in the Six Nations on Sunday from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player

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