These days sport’s leading coaches mostly prefer not to express their innermost private thoughts. Andy Farrell, as a former Great Britain rugby league captain, long ago earned his black belt in the art of politely disarming the media. Just occasionally, though, the time comes to ignore all that rubbish and call a spade a bloody shovel.
Which is what he did in no uncertain terms when asked about the recent chain of events surrounding his son Owen. To suggest the subsequent fallout has left him seething would be the understatement of the rugby year. On the one hand, he is head coach of Ireland, with a big warm-up game against England on Saturday to worry about. On the other he is a proud father, whose anger at those rushing to criticise “Faz Jr” can clearly be bottled up no longer.
“Disgraceful”, “circus” and “bullshit” were just some of the choice words that pinged back past the heads of his media audience, embedding themselves deep in the walls at the rear of the tiered auditorium in the depths of the Aviva Stadium. Let’s just say the subtle interviewing skills of the late, great Michael Parkinson were not required to lay bare precisely how he felt.
The most powerful response came in answer to the question of whether he agreed with England’s defence coach, Kevin Sinfield, that there had been an unfair “pile-on” since Owen’s red card for a reckless high tackle was rescinded by an independent disciplinary committee, prompting uproar in the court of social media and elsewhere.
“What could I say?” came his icy reply. “I don’t know. I’d probably get his mother up here to do an interview with you and you’ll see the human side of the bullshit that’s happening. Or maybe get his wife to write a book on it, because then you’ll probably see the impact that it’s having, not just on the professional player, but the families and the human side that goes with it.”
Some of the flak flying around, in his view, has also been viciously personal and completely over the top. “I don’t normally say too much about my son. What I probably would say is that the circus that has gone around all of this is absolutely disgusting. Disgusting. I suppose those people who have loved their time in the sun will get a few more days to keep going at that.”
The decision of World Rugby to appeal against the original verdict to rescind Farrell Jr’s red card will indeed ensure the circus stays in town for a few more days. Farrell, like every coach heading to the World Cup, wants to know exactly where he and his players stand in respect to high tackles. He and everyone else are now guessing, the new “bunker review” system having been so publicly undermined that World Rugby probably felt compelled to challenge the verdict.
Stuck in the middle, as ever, are the players and coaches. While it would be interesting to see how Farrell Sr would coach Farrell Jr if he were wearing a green jersey – “some people love living on the edge but we try and stay under that because it is so important” – those who argue this week’s disciplinary hokey cokey has somehow helped the sport in terms of grabbing people’s attention are forgetting the flip side.
Everyone, by rights, should be talking about the impressively strong side Ireland will field, the battling Keith Earls’s impending 100th cap and Farrell Sr’s desire for his side to improve significantly on their slightly nervy performance when they secured the Six Nations grand slam against the same opposition in March.
Instead, for the umpteenth time, rugby union again leads the sporting world in terms of shooting itself in both feet on a daily basis. Is there a team sport mired in more confusion? Or one showing a more contorted, divided face to the world? That collective frustration, at this rate, risks scarring the entire World Cup.
As far as Farrell Sr is concerned, though, there are even more important issues at play. His own distinguished career taught him that tough times come with the job – “it’s part of life as a professional sportsman” – but also where fair comment ends and hateful abuse begins. “I get that the longer you’re near the top level, a lot of people are there to shoot you down. That’s all well and good but it comes to a point where it’s not acceptable.”
For everyone’s sake, he believes, it is now time to draw a line.
