Farrell hails a revitalized Ireland after defeating Scotland and second-place finish

By Canadian Press on March 14, 2026.

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland started the Six Nations regarded as an aging team in decline.

It finishes the championship as a revitalized team in transition and still packing a punch.

Coach Andy Farrell couldn’t be prouder after his side contained the strongest Scotland threat in decades by 43-21 on Saturday and finished second overall to defending champion France.

Ireland was thrashed by France 36-14 on opening night in Paris and rebounded with a struggle against Italy, a record thrashing of England at Twickenham, a scrappy win over Wales and a 12th straight mauling of Scotland.

Beside the wins which earned another Triple Crown, Farrell was impressed by Ireland’s performances.

“Winning matters but what’s happened over the eight weeks matters more to us in the sense that there is a lot of firsts; first caps and people playing in the Six Nations for the first time and playing in Super Saturday when it counts for the first time,” he said.

“How our group have come together and navigated their way through that is pretty special. We grow massively because of it and the group has become more resilient because of that.”

Farrell said he talked with the squad this week about the next 19 months before the Rugby World Cup in Australia. The road was difficult but the aim was to grow the squad and fill it with belief.

Ireland played this Six Nations without the likes of Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen, Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy, Ryan Baird, and Robbie Henshaw. Some will return before the Nations Championship in July and some won’t but Farrell was pleased with his squad’s improving depth forced by a long injury list.

He was happy to name-check standouts such as lock Darragh Murray, who scored a try against Scotland in his Six Nations debut while Tadhg Beirne was in the blood bin, and props Michael Milne and Tom O’Toole, who was Ireland’s fifth-choice loosehead after moving from tighthead.

Farrell praised captain Caelan Doris for “one of his best games in his career.”

As for center Stu McCloskey, Farrell said, “He should be in the running for player of the tournament. The Irish fridge! It’s huge for Stu, he has bided his time all these years and what he has done is immense. I don’t know when Stu last played five on the bounce for us and performed like that. It’s magnificent.”

Farrell also singled out flyhalf Jack Crowley, who replaced Sam Prendergast as the starter for the wins against England, Wales and Scotland.

“I thought (Crowley) was outstanding today. He committed to his performance in every aspect,” Farrell said. “It wasn’t just the goalkicking or the ball in the air but you could see he committed to every aspect of the game and led the team really well.”

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

The Associated Press

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