Andy Farrell has questioned when exactly Ireland’s two remaining Six Nations games will be played after their match with France was postponed.
The Ireland head coach was speaking to the media after the news and was unsure whether playing five games in a row in Autumn was a viable option.
“I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. Five games over the Autumn? I don’t know whether that’s going to happen. Four games on the bounce is always difficult enough.
“Teams always try to schedule their November for a Tier 2 [nation] which gives a development side of things to the flavour of the November calendar.
“So we don’t know what’s going to happen. I presume there’s certainly going to be one game played around that period but we’ve not had anything confirmed,” Farrell said.
Ireland have a tough set of games already lined up at the end of the year and the former rugby league player seemed worried about the potential toll on his players.
“You’ve got to look at the whole picture of the November calendar from our perspective. I mean, we’ve got three really tough games coming up.
“We’ve got two against Australia [in July] then we’ve got South Africa, Australia and Japan [in November]. It’s a tough old five games, isn’t it?
“Then you throw in two more, which for us, is hopefully effectively a semi-final and final, regarding the Six Nations. It changes the goalposts a little bit so it takes some reflection,” Farrell commented.
While the fixture schedule remains a concern for the Irish set-up, Farrell was at least confident that the team would be able to handle the possibility of contracting coronavirus.
“We’ve sent out numerous emails. In fact, we’ve got a talk scheduled for tomorrow as regards to the coronavirus, etc. But we tend to be pretty good in rugby, in house.
“We have had problems for many a year within a team environment where you pass on viruses, flus, etc. It’s no different for us. From day one, every single time we come into camp the first thing that the doctor stands up and says is, ‘Hygiene.’
“There is no difference between the coronavirus and the protocols we have adhered to for the last few years,” Farrell said.
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