'Ireland close one chapter and ready to open another'

While nan looming landmark will not person played overmuch connected Andy Farrell's mind past week arsenic he devised nan gameplan to unafraid a bid divided successful South Africa, it is difficult not to position his 50th crippled successful complaint of Ireland arsenic thing of a demarcation constituent successful his tenure.

Win, lose, aliases tie nan 2nd Test against nan Springboks successful Durban connected Saturday, location was ever going to beryllium a consciousness that nan extremity of this anticipated circuit would people nan opening of nan adjacent chapter.

And while Farrell's 40th victory crossed that half period of games atop nan summons gives him nan champion winning percent of immoderate Irish coach successful history, moreover greater than his predecessor Joe Schmidt, location is still a emotion of alteration successful nan air.

Despite nan mostly successful result of a drawn bid contempt a first Test defeat, events successful South Africa complete nan past 2 weeks person strengthened, not weakened, that theory.

Given they are back-to-back Six Nations champions, and Farrell has been rewarded pinch nan Lions coaching occupation for adjacent summer's circuit to Australia, it is easy to place nan rocky opening to his Ireland tenure.

When nan Englishman, who had been nan side's protect master since 2016, took connected nan occupation from his erstwhile leader Schmidt aft nan 2019 World Cup, location was nary abrupt effort to reinvent nan wheel.

Skipper Rory Best had stepped distant aft that quarter-final nonaccomplishment to New Zealand, while location was besides nan request to switch long-serving full-back Rob Kearney. But it was to beryllium a lawsuit of improvement not revolution, moreover if nan deficiency of contiguous betterment successful results meant Farrell copped disapproval now agelong since swept nether nan carpet.

While others thought champion to instantly move from 1 four-year World Cup rhythm to nan next, Farrell stuck pinch nan mostly of Schmidt's side, bringing successful caller players gradually.

Caelan Doris and Ronan Kelleher would debut successful his first window, Jamison Gibson-Park, James Lowe and Hugo Keenan nan next.

It would beryllium much than a twelvemonth successful nan occupation earlier we saw nan likes of Craig Casey and Ryan Baird, pinch Dan Sheehan and Mack Hansen radiated successful thereafter.

Last year, pursuing different quarter-final exit to nan All Blacks, Farrell again did not spot a disappointing World Cup arsenic origin to rip it up and commencement again.

In caller times, though, location has felt for illustration thing of a much accelerated changing of nan guard.

Joe McCarthy displaced Iain Henderson and James Ryan from teams complete successful France and carried that shape done nan 2024 Six Nations.

Uncapped Jamie Osborne was handed a debut successful nan first Test conclusion to South Africa while it felt important that, successful nan absence of Gibson-Park, it was Craig Casey and not Conor Murray who sewage nan motion to commencement successful Pretoria.

For nan IRFU to uncover past week that provinces will soon beryllium restricted from importing props felt for illustration a tacit acknowledgement that nan likes of Tadhg Furlong and Cian Healy will not beryllium astir everlastingly either.

In nan months ahead, Farrell will besides spot nan biggest alteration to his coaching summons since Paul O'Connell came connected committee successful 2021 pinch nan void near by Mike Catt's departure arsenic onslaught master to beryllium filled by Leinster's Andrew Goodman.

Perhaps nan biggest harbinger of change, however, was Farrell's action telephone past Thursday.

Never awkward of a bold determination - it is forgotten now really nan likes of Gibson-Park and Hansen were viewed arsenic somewhat left-field choices astatine nan clip of their first starts - to driblet his 34-year-old skipper Peter O'Mahony to nan chair for nan 2nd Test made a immense statement.

It each points to a squad pinch 1 oculus connected nan present and now but different connected nan future.

These 2 games against nan backmost to backmost world champions ever felt for illustration 1 past push from nan aforesaid group that took Ireland to a 2023 Grand Slam and nan number 1 ranking successful nan world this clip past year.

With a judge to beryllium eagerly anticipated autumn gathering pinch nan All Blacks successful Dublin arsenic their adjacent fixture, and England emerging arsenic a sizeable threat to their caller Six Nations supremacy, Farrell is not astir commencement experimenting for experimentation's sake.

But it will beryllium fascinating to spot if nan baton of Ireland's belief leader is permanently passed from O'Mahony to Doris for November, while Ciaran Frawley has intelligibly staked a declare to push Jack Crowley for nan No.10 jersey, moreover if it is 1 he seldom wears for his state Leinster.

Uncapped players for illustration Sam Prendergast, Cormac Izuchukwu and Nathan Doak, who travelled to South Africa without seeing nan pitch, will look to footwear connected too, moreover if it could beryllium adjacent summertime earlier they spot important clip successful green.

Exact fixtures are still being finalised but nan broadside will beryllium heading for Georgia and Romania adjacent July, matches that would lend themselves to a deepening of nan talent excavation akin to erstwhile Japan and USA came to Dublin successful 2021.

Farrell himself will beryllium different engaged by then, of course, arsenic he leads nan Lions successful Australia pinch his adjunct Simon Easterby expected to return impermanent charge.

Change is coming for Ireland adjacent season. After ending their longest run connected specified a precocious successful Durban, they look fresh to clasp it.