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Brian O'Driscoll shares first-hand take on positives Andy Farrell will bring for Ireland

Andy Farrell's appointment as Ireland's next defence coach took many by surprise this week, but B...



Brian O'Driscoll shares fi...
Rugby

Brian O'Driscoll shares first-hand take on positives Andy Farrell will bring for Ireland

Andy Farrell's appointment as Ireland's next defence coach took many by surprise this week, but Brian O'Driscoll was among those to react positively.

Off The Ball's premier rugby correspondent tweeted that the ex-England defence coach is a "very good coach and motivator".

Brian worked with Farrell when the latter was part of the backroom team on the 2013 Lions Tour and joined by fellow former Ireland captain Keith Wood on Off The Ball tonight, the Leinster legend explained the positives the 40-year-old will bring to Joe Schmidt's setup.

"It's just the manner in which he gets it across and the excitement that he generates from defence," he said, adding that Farrell makes the kick-chase exciting and helps turns defence into attack.

"I just thought he brought a great energy to his sessions and when we were in meetings and going through analysis, you wanted to go out and defend for him." 

Keith said he was "pretty happy" with the appointment and added that he enjoyed playing and being coached by those with rugby league backgrounds during his own career.

"The reason I liked the idea of Farrell coming in to it is he is a big personality in his own right. He is a strong northern English guy, opinionated and I think it will be good for Joe Schmidt. It's very good to have a strong guy who believes in what he believes," he said. 

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