Andy Farrell

It's one of the toughest places in world rugby to go and it doesn't matter what anyone's record is there, they're tough to beat there," said the head coach.

That will give us more of an idea.” This was our best performance of the campaign." “They have, yeah, and we’ll see how they compete and train and take note and hold our nerve to see how their training goes and make the call," he remarked. "Any good player wants time and space, and he’s able to do what he wants from time to time because of the work that’s done on the inside for him. "And it’s fact, they’re going for the Triple Crown, that will mean a lot to them - so it has to mean even more to us." “It’s one of the toughest places in world rugby to go and it doesn’t matter what anyone’s record is there, they’re tough to beat there," he said.

Next Thursday, March 9, Andy Farrell will name what should be his strongest Ireland team since the tour to New Zealand, last summer.

This is not necessarily the team we feel Farrell will pick, more a piece on the players and combinations we would go with. The following Ireland team (listed below) is the starting XV and bench that we would select to face Scotland. Scotland and France are next, with 10 points apiece. That second row call and scrumhalf are our two biggest calls. [have been retained for a two-day training camp](https://www.sportsjoe.ie/rugby/ireland-squad-update-scotland-283971), on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Andy Farrell was not taking as many risks with senior players for the Italy game. Farrell's Grand Slam-chasing side will face off against Richie Murphy's Grand Slam-chasing Under 20s squad and both sessions will be close to full tilt. In a World Cup year, and with such depth, it was a sensible option. While we are bringing Robbie Henshaw and Tadhg Furlong in for starts, with are sticking with Conor Murray at No.9 with Jamison Gibson-Park primed for 25 to 30 minutes off the bench. For the likes of Tadhg Furlong, Robbie Henshaw and Jamison Gibson-Park, these sessions are a chance to prove they are reading to go straight in against Scotland. While Ireland were in decent health for the Bank of Ireland Nations Series, last November, should a host of key players pass fitness markers over the coming week, Farrell should be able to pick a team with 14 of his strongest 15. Two big calls in our Ireland team that needs to start against Scotland

Andy Farrell gave Ireland supporters the news they had been desperate to hear after Finlay Bealham's injury in their 34-20 victory over Italy – Tadhg.

Whatever Farrell does decide to do, he has three phenomenal scrum-halves to take to the World Cup in September and will have the whole world looking on in envy. Stuart McCloskey has been the man filling that void, and he has been fantastic on both sides of the ball, making 205 metres, winning a turnover and making 25 tackles to name but a few of his key statistics. But one man who can do things Russell can is Sexton, who has been there and done that in an Ireland shirt and will not be worrying about how to stop his opposite number, but rather how he can be better than him on the day. Russell may be very tricky to stop defensively with so many strings to his bow, but Sexton has the experience and the big game nous to win that key battle – so Farrell will be crossing his fingers he is fit to play on Sunday 12th March. The Leinster prop is one of the very best in world rugby in all facets of his game, at the scrum, in the loose and at the breakdown and with Bealham out his return is timely. That makes Furlong’s return essential, but there is also due to be the return of scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park and centre Robbie Henshaw right when it matters and skipper Johnny Sexton is also due to be fit.

Italy 20; Ireland 34 If you play enough with fire, you will surely end up getting burnt. Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell should remember that old d...

"I suppose the positive is the chances that we did create but the negative is that we didn’t take them all again. He bemoaned the number of try-scoring opportunities that the side left behind them and sloppiness in their play. Ireland had to take the conservative option with Byrne kicking a penalty to restore our lead to seven before Hansen got over for his second try after sub scrum half Conor Murray brilliantly linked up after breaking the gain line with 10 minutes remaining. It looked over at that stage until Aki presented our opponents with a try just by Pierre Bruno before the half-time whistle to bring them right back into the frame. Still, it is a lovely place to be, isn't it, at the top of the table and winning despite not playing well or with a full squad. Injuries seem to be mounting as well and with Tadhg Beirne ruled out for the rest of the Six Nations season already, Saturday saw Finlay Bealham leave the field with what looked like a long-term knee injury.

The42′s rugby writers look back at the key talking points from Saturday's game in Rome.

Farrell has no shortage of options in those areas, but Baird’s display was a timely reminder of what he can offer this Ireland team. It remains to be seen how seriously he twisted his knee but the Connacht man was in a brace after the game, having been forced off in the first half. He was also prominent in the build up play that led to Bundee Aki’s crossed out try. On the positive side, Ulster man Tom O’Toole got 45 valuable minutes off the bench in Rome and did very well. Bundee Aki was tasked with moving into the number 13 shirt at a very late stage and while he slipped off some tackles in defence, the Irish struggles certainly weren’t all on him. Ireland’s battling victory in Rome saw Andy Farrell’s side take 15 points from a possible 15 from the opening three rounds of this year’s Six Nations.

When Andy Farrell was first announced as head coach, there was a school of thought that Ireland would become a very defensive team that didn't put as much ...

Their 24 missed tackles in Rome followed a whopping 38 in the win over France and 17 against Wales, but Ireland have only coughed up four tries, one of which came off an intercept last weekend. Despite France winning the Grand Slam last year, Ireland finished the tournament having conceded the fewest points and tries, as well as scoring more than the champions on both counts. Considering their lack of game-time and allowing for Italy’s obvious improvements in attack, that was to be expected, but Farrell won’t ignore the rising missed tackle count.

At the start of the Six Nations, the concern was cover, and whether Andy Farrell had the replacements to deal with the casualties that inevitably arise ...

But more important is the soft-tissue heading under which these complaints fall. Rather than blank refusal to discuss injuries, though, coaches also resort to the language of obfuscation. What injury befell Tadhg Beirne against France remains unclear, as does the exact nature of Johnny Sexton's complaint. Sometimes, the paranoid choose not to discuss an injury at all. Heaven forbid that the plain status of an injury might be reported. Depth chart is now under threat as the most used phrase in Irish rugby.