Sir John Kirwan and Victor Matfield give their verdict on Ireland as ‘belief’ wavers in Andy Farrell’s plan
Ireland in a huddle during 2026 Six Nations and Springboks legend Victor Matfield.
A couple of All Blacks and Springboks legends have given their theories on why Ireland have not reached the heights of previous years.
Andy Farrell’s men struggled to a 20-13 victory over Italy in the second round of the Six Nations, a week-and-a-half after being thrashed 36-14 by France in the competition opener.
Considering their brilliance before and even the year after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, it is a concerning drop-off from the Irishmen.
Sir John Kirwan and Victor Matfield duly debated Ireland’s issues on the Rivals podcast with the former New Zealand wing seeing a lot of uncertainty in their game.
Lack of organisation
“I just think they’ve lost their confidence, they’re really unsure about what direction they want to go and what rugby players they want to take with them,” Kirwan said.
“When you think about the traditional Irish pack, you’re thinking about three massive loose forwards that are ball carriers, big hard working locks.
“I used to talk about design by numbers when you played Ireland. They were so well organised that you couldn’t get the ball off them. There were no errors and [Johnny] Sexton would go three places to the right, swing back and have guys running off him.
“I don’t see that organisation around their football anymore.”
Matfield suggested the success of others, such as the Springboks, convinced them to alter their style, which has potentially had a negative impact.
“I don’t think they’re sure how they want to play. They had the style that JK is talking about with Sexton at 10; playing multi-phase, having all these options and then they didn’t win a World Cup,” he said.
“I wonder if they thought, ‘shouldn’t we play like some of the other teams?’ Be more conservative and kick at certain areas.
“For me they’re in between. I always say a team needs to know how ‘we’ win a game and every team is different. How do Ireland win big games? That’s something they need to understand.”
Muddled thinking
The Springboks legend added: “I don’t think it’s confidence, I think it’s belief in the plan. The moment you cut players, especially if you cut senior players, and the coach gives a plan, and you start saying: ‘Are we really doing the right thing? Shouldn’t we do this? Shouldn’t we do that?’ Then you’re in trouble.
“With Rassie, that’s one thing I can tell you; even if he does crazy stuff, all the players believe in him 100 per cent. Whatever he says, they want to go and they’re excited to go and try it.
“Where Ireland is now, they’re in between. They’re defending a certain way at Leinster, they’re defending a certain way at Ireland – which one is the better one?
“They’re in their rooms in the evening, talking about if they’re doing the right thing and once you get there, you’re in trouble.”
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