{"id":25298,"date":"2022-02-28T10:03:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T15:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25298"},"modified":"2022-02-28T11:06:33","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T16:06:33","slug":"andy-farrell-and-ireland-prepare-for-twickenham-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25298","title":{"rendered":"Andy Farrell And Ireland Prepare For Twickenham Clash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Andy Farrell is yet to win at Twickenham as Ireland head coach (PA Wire\/PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell is braced for a full-throttle Twickenham showdown with England and acknowledges his side must improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long-standing rivals each retain hope of overhauling pacesetters France in the battle for Guinness Six Nations glory on the back of weekend wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland had the luxury of a two-man advantage for an hour of Sunday\u2019s emphatic 57-6 victory over Italy, while Eddie Jones\u2019 men survived a late scare in defeating Wales 23-19 the previous day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farrell \u2013 who was impressed by the English display against the reigning champions \u2013 believes both camps have much to consider ahead of attempting to keep their respective title hopes alive in a pivotal round-four clash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that they\u2019re going to come hard at us,\u201d he said of England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cItaly came hard off the line at times and we weren\u2019t composed enough, so we need to be a little bit more accurate there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that they like to kick the ball for territory a lot, the same as what they\u2019ve done for the last couple of seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought they were good (against Wales). I thought in the first half they were very dominant as far as territory is concerned and they kept the scoreboard ticking over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey thoroughly deserved their half-time lead and I suppose there will be plenty for them to ponder on in the next couple of weeks, the same as ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland and England have each registered two wins and a loss so far, with the former higher in the standings courtesy of an additional bonus point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farrell\u2019s men eventually ran in nine tries against the depleted Italians, who were reduced to 13 men in just the 19th minute due to a dubious law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The loss of Gianmarco Lucchesi and replacement hooker Hame Faiva to injury and a red card respectively led to uncontested scrums in Dublin and necessitated the removal of an additional player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toa Halafihi was the man sacrificed, while a late yellow card for Braam Steyn meant the Azzurri completed the match with just 12 players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being satisfied with a substantial boost to his team\u2019s points difference, Farrell felt the performance could have been more convincing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt took us a while just to calm down and see the game for what it is,\u201d said the Englishman, whose side finish the tournament at home to Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe thought there was space everywhere and we were making poor decisions on the back of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about us but at the end of the day we said to the players that 57-6, we\u2019d have certainly taken that before the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt puts us in a good position now as far as the points difference is concerned, now onto the next two matches that we need to win to be in contention for winning the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A brace apiece for debutant Michael Lowry and James Lowe, plus further scores from Joey Carbery, Jamison Gibson-Park, Peter O\u2019Mahony, Ryan Baird and Kieran Treadwell did the damage against the Azzurri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbery also added two of his five conversion attempts, while substitute Johnny Sexton was flawless with his four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ireland go into the second two-week break of the championship with a couple of injury issues sustained against Italy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prop Andrew Porter, who was substituted just after half-time, is nursing an ankle strain and center Robbie Henshaw is undergoing a head injury assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe went over on his ankle slightly,\u201d Farrell said of Porter. \u201cHe was running it off and he would have been able to carry on but we thought we\u2019d get him off at that stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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