IRELAND HEAD coach Anday Farrell has claimed that his Ireland will be ready for the difficult tour of New Zealand, when his side play their first game against the Maori All Blacks on Wednesday next week.
The last time Ireland toured New Zealand was in 2012, where Ireland lost every game including a 60-0 defeat in Hamilton,
This time Ireland entered the tour with added confidence having beaten the All Blacks three times since then.
Farrell knows how good his Ireland side is, but isn't allowing complacany to set in
“We'll be up for the challenge, there’s no doubt", he said,
How we go after the game is pretty important to us because you can’t just sit back and hope things are going to go all right because they probably won’t if you have that type of mindset. So our mentality is going to be pretty important.”
Farrell didn't only best the All Blacks with Ireland, he also was part of the coaching staff that beat New Zealand in 2017 in Wellington with a score of 24-21.
🎥 "We're glad to be here, we’ve had a few days’ training and we’re up and running."
Head Coach Andy Farrell spoke to media following today's squad session at North Harbour in Auckland ⬇️#TeamOfUs | #NZTour2022 pic.twitter.com/wfEzK0KnyT— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) June 25, 2022
He knows how tough it will be for some Ireland's younger players
“It’s unbelievably tough to come over here and be successful,” Farrell said.
“Defining what success is a bit different for some people. We’ve got a group of 40 that’s come out here because of everything we’ve just talked about regarding not touring before and lack of game-time opportunity.
“Some guys are playing against the Maori team on Wednesday night and they’ve been dying for a chance to play in big games and it doesn’t get any bigger for them so it’s a great challenge all round.
"Then players being out of their comfort zone, five or six of them backing up in a Test match on Saturday against the All Blacks, it doesn’t get more challenging but at the same time, it’s where we want to be.
“We want to be at a stage where a year or so out from a World Cup we want to find out more about ourselves and this is a perfect place to do that.
Ireland 2022 Summer Tour Fixtures
Māori All Blacks v IRELAND
FMG Stadium, Hamilton, Wednesday 29th June 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
New Zealand v IRELAND
Eden Park, Auckland, Saturday 2nd July 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
New Zealand v IRELAND
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, Saturday 9th July 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
Māori All Blacks v IRELAND
SKY Stadium, Wellington, Tuesday 12th July 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
New Zealand v IRELAND
SKY Stadium, Wellington, Saturday 16th July 2022 (KO: 8.05am)
