Andy Farrell, head coach
His reaction to the Rugby World Cup draw, which pitted Ireland against Scotland, Uruguay and Portugal:
“Scotland have performed well in the last couple of tournaments, so that's a great fixture. We know each other well and will continue to do so in the coming years. But Uruguay and Portugal are a little different. We've played Portugal once and I've actually tried to play against them a few times, so we've followed their journey. Uruguay is a little different. All in all, I was super excited. I got goosebumps standing up, as in it's exciting, you know. So that's the way it should be.
"Obviously, I want myself, the other coaches, the players and all the staff to go as far as we’d all hope. We all have the ambition to win the World Cup, otherwise what's the point? I want to ensure that everyone else feels the same. You can try to second-guess it (the draw) and think about whether the permutations will work out in a certain way. But we know it always throws up these types of things. That’s why we love it so much. I suppose you’re always looking at which side of the draw you could come out. But if you don’t look after your own side of things first and foremost, things could happen a little bit differently. Having said that, everyone else in our pool is 100% going to be thinking in the same way.”
About the date of the draw two years before Rugby World Cup:
"You just know through experience that so much can happen within two years, with eligibility and all that comes into play. You might think you know a certain side, but by the time you meet them in the World Cup, they become a completely different entity. That’s always happened, and I suppose it’ll be no different this time round.
“A good example would be before the last World Cup when we had an Emerging Ireland tour. Everyone thought that was a bit light as far as preparations were concerned but I think with seven lads from that tour, or six - that might be exaggerated - in regards to being involved, certainly in preparation, lads really putting their hands up to be involved within that World Cup squad, so it just shows you how quickly things can change. Obviously, there’s a plan of what you think could happen along the way, but you move with that as you go as well.”
About Ireland's preparations:
“That's already started, believe me. I’ve literally just come out of a two-hour meeting that we had straight after the draw. These things have to be planned well in advance, especially when you’re trying to navigate your way to the other side of the world. Now we know a little bit more, but we still don’t know anywhere near enough. The fixtures and where we’re going to be based are a big part of it. We’re trying to map it all out, book everything and arrange more training camps."
On his rivalry against Scotland:
“It’s amazing that, over the years, we’ve had this rivalry. Who would have thought that, in the last couple of World Cups, we’d meet each other? Obviously, we meet each other in a pretty important competition the Six Nations every single year. The easy thing for us to say every time we play Scotland is that we have always had a lot of respect for them as an unbelievably dangerous, world-class side. Having worked with many of their players in the summer, you get to see why you feel like that. Obviously, knowing a few more guys, there’s insight there both ways, but I suppose over the course of two years those things change massively as well.”
Caelan Doris, captain
On the attention he pays to Ireland when he plays at Leinster:
“There’s a fair bit of alignment between the two, in terms of the common denominator being we want to get better as individuals and from every aspect of the game. So, for example, me getting better and focusing on playing with Leinster usually feeds into Ireland as well.
"I want to improve as a player and as a leader and I have an opportunity to do that this week. I don’t want there to be a difference in standards or in how I play in international versus provincial games, whether in Europe or the URC. It’s always about getting better and getting the most out of myself, as well as pushing those around me. There are obviously a lot of good players in the Ireland squad as well, so there’s a bit of carry-over there. But yeah, it’s always about constant improvement.”
