Keith Andrews was full of admiration for the Ireland rugby team, and coach Andy Farrell in particular, wishing them well ahead of Saturday's quarter-final clash against New Zealand.
The Ireland assistant manager said that he has been in and around the rugby international set-up and has learned from the experience, while praising Farrell for his character and overall approach to how he leads the national side.
Andrews said that his role within the international set-up allows him to explore the approach that other elite sports take, and he believes that he has learned a lot from such visits, including a two-day stint with the Ireland rugby squad ahead of this year’s Six Nations campaign.
"I don’t think it’s envy, I think it’s just admiration for what they are doing, how they do it, the spirit they have," said Andrews, speaking at Tuesday’s press conference ahead of Friday’s game against Greece.
"I have been in with them to spend some time with them behind the scenes and what they do and take little snippets from them. They are very transparent in what they do. Their preparations, they’ve got phenomenal people involved so when it comes to rugby, I’m just a fan.
"I think for international football you are constantly trying to develop in between camps whether that’s club visits, going to study different systems, watching our players is obviously a big part of that. But going to different environments and cherry-picking little nuggets where you think they can transfer into your environment and your dressing room is important."
"I think he (Andy Farrell) is brilliant," added Andrews (below). "He’s outstanding as a man the way he carries himself and the staff he has around him, all the different coaching departments, sports science, everybody again very inclusive in terms of how they invited me into their environment. I was very, very impressed and very appreciative of them."
Ireland are currently the number one ranked side in world rugby, in complete contrast to their footballing equivalents – Stephen Kenny’s side are currently languishing in 55th place – but Andrews said that the squad would be watching and supporting their rugby counterparts from the hotel in Portugal ahead of Monday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Gibraltar.
"That’s the plan," said Andrews. "We are always trying to implement things for the players. Whether it’s quizzes, bits and bobs to keep them stimulated.
"But listen they won’t need me to be putting the game on; they will be watching it themselves. We will be in Portugal at that stage obviously so yeah the facility will be there for everybody to watch it."
While full of praise for rugby coach Farrell, Andrews was also happy to sing the praises of Stephen Kenny, maintaining his steadfast support for the under-fire Ireland manager.
"No," said Andrews, when asked whether he felt that there was something missing from Kenny's overall repertoire as a manager.
"I think it’s fairly obvious at this stage that, with the relationship I have had with him from the 21s days to the senior job, if I didn’t have absolute belief in our relationship and what we are trying, I realistically wouldn’t be here.
"I love the job but I like doing things in a certain way. I have real principles on the game that I believe in, and they are very much aligned to his, which was right from the off, [from] our first conversation before I joined the 21s, so no, absolutely not."
Andrews also lauded Irish rugby’s organisation throughout the country and while he said that it was not necessarily an approach that football could completely copy, there were certain aspects that could be taken on board.
"We know what’s been here in this building (FAI HQ), and I’ve been on both sides of it, what was before - old ways and old habits, and where that’s left us, and what’s gone on in the last few years has been consistent steps in the right direction," said Andrews.
"But we need help, obviously. We can’t generate that type of funding that’s needed around grassroots, League of Ireland, the constant debates, the constant need to invest, to develop our young players, because again we all know the implications of Brexit and how that’s left us.
"We have to develop our own players, we have to take responsibility, and that will come in due course. The assistance from government grants, UEFA, FIFA etc is very much needed for the ongoing success of the development of our young players, which we are all very passionate about."
"I think it’s probably hard to copy and paste, but there are elements of it that we can learn from and study," said Andrews, regarding a reference to the entire World Cup squad playing their club rugby in Ireland.
"I’ve spent time with the IRFU for my own personal development and what they have done in terms of development of the provinces and schools is obviously very impressive.
"There are elements where we need to introduce that into our schools. We have to implement that into our schools and be a bit more strategic around it.
"We have to align everybody at grassroots, which is very, very difficult in this country, and League of Ireland, and us.
"To bring that all in a straight line of where we want to go, which is ultimately to create the best possible players we can, to give them the game-time, to give them the infrastructure, to give them the expertise of all the coaches that we are trying to develop, I think it all needs to come together.
"But what the rugby has produced over a sustained period of time and with the provinces in particular is very impressive."
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