Andy Farrell on Lions factor: 'I won't shy away from it'

Ireland boss Andy Farrell intends to embrace the hype surrounding the first of four meetings with Joe Schmidt’s Australia and insists his upcoming stint with the British and Irish Lions is not a “distraction”.

Six Nations champions Ireland conclude their autumn campaign by hosting the Wallabies before Farrell temporarily departs to lead next summer’s three-Test Lions tour against the same nation.

The Englishman previously spent three-and-a-half years as assistant to former Ireland head coach Schmidt, adding an extra layer of intrigue to Saturday’s Dublin showdown and the subsequent 2025 series.

Asked how he will handle this week’s big media build-up, Farrell replied: “I won’t be shying away from it.

“We’ll use everything that we’ve got, obviously. So will they. There’s no doubt. It’s an exciting last game for everyone.”

Defence coach Simon Easterby is poised to replace Farrell on an interim basis and will oversee Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations title defence in 2025 and a planned summer tour to Romania and Georgia

Despite his imminent sabbatical, Farrell remains fully focused on immediate challenges.

“It’s not been a distraction for me or the squad,” he said of the Lions. “The only thing that matters is this week.”

Australia’s upcoming visit to the Aviva Stadium has been arranged as part of celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of Ireland’s inaugural international match.

The hosts go into the game buoyed by Saturday’s emphatic 52-17 win over Fiji, which followed a narrow 22-19 victory against Argentina and a 23-13 defeat by New Zealand.

Australia, who appointed Schmidt in January following the resignation of Eddie Jones, are seeking a response to Sunday’s 27-13 loss to Scotland after beating England and Wales on the back of a dismal Rugby Championship campaign.

“I think it’s progressing exactly how we thought it would do,” Farrell said of Schmidt’s impact on the Wallabies.

“He’s taken his team by playing a good few players first and foremost and took a little bit of pain but he’s done the right thing for the squad, so he’s got a good opinion and they’re reaping their reward for that at this moment in time.

“They’ve always got the athletes. He’s trying to find out about them more personally I would have thought over the last six months. He’s got that now and he’s got them playing really good rugby.”

New Zealander Schmidt guided Ireland to three Six Nations titles and a historic first win over the All Blacks during his reign between 2013 and 2019, having previously coached Leinster.

Scrum-half Craig Casey, who claimed one of Ireland’s eight tries against Fiji – his first international score, is braced for a “colossal Test match” to end the autumn.

Gus McCarthy (second right) is congratulated by Ireland teammates Bundee Aki, Craig Casey and Stuart McCloskey after scoring on his debut (Photo by Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

“I actually never worked with Joe, I was under-20s and that was probably the closest I got to a Joe Schmidt session,” said the 25-year-old Munster player.

“But I think the lads have a lot of respect for him for what he did for Leinster rugby, for what he did for Irish rugby.

“It was very, very special times when he was the coach so there’s a lot of respect there and I think we probably know what’s coming with Australia.

“He’s going to have them psyched up, you can see the improvement in them already.

“It’s going to be a colossal Test match and they’ve got a few freak players as well, so it should be a good one.”