Ireland head coach Andy Farrell believes the team’s unity is key to their third successive Six Nations win after losing their first game to France.
Friday night’s hard-earned 27-17 bonus-point victory over Wales in Dublin sets the stage for a Triple Crown decider against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium on March 14, with both sides carrying title aspirations heading into the final round.
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Ireland have fielded 33 players in this year’s tournament so far, but Farrell said the unity between the squad is what drives the team forward.
“You have to know people, but these [caps] Not a freebie – we provide a start and an opportunity to those who deserve it.
“It just shows that the whole team is eager to be a part of this and grow the team.
“It’s nice to feel like the whole team thinks this is their team and they’re all trying to contribute to us moving forward.”
Farrell singled out a number of players who particularly impressed him in the win over Wales, many of whom also made a positive contribution in the win over England at Twickenham two weeks ago.
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“For someone who hasn’t had a lot of exposure to perform well at this level, it’s pretty impressive,” he said.
“We’re probably talking about Robert Balukuon. All you want is what he did in the last game and then get back on him this week.
“I thought Jack Conan, he would be a little angry [after missing the England game because of illness]so to start his performance, he performed very well.
“I thought Josh [van der Flier] The bench has been great, Joe McCarthy has been great off the bench, so it’s good to move on with a couple of guys and they’ll be more consistent at this level. “
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“We didn’t quit either”
The Ireland boss pointed out some areas for improvement against Wales as the side prepare to end their season on a higher note.
“I don’t think we quit like we have in the past. They obviously put pressure on Jamieson [Gibson-Park] Quite a bit, and got some rewards out of it.
“We played a little too much in 25 or 30 games, but you have to feel the game and respect the game for what it is.
“I think we overplayed it at times around midfield. Sometimes you have to respect what the opponent does well and they defend well.
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“I think we need a little territory to take the pressure off.”
Farrell went on to explain that the players will proactively address the issue.
“We’ll obviously review it and discuss it, but they’ll figure it out on their own. They know the score, we’ve discussed it.
“That’s what the lads do, they watch the games before we have meetings so they can catch up.
“Because the ball wasn’t nearly as fast as it was last week, the obvious and obvious thing they did was hit the ball twice, slow the ball down, but almost open up from the edge defense there.
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“Even though we’ve been playing slow balls out of the backfield, we’ve really played into their hands and we need to do better.”
