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Published 18:11 21 Mar 2023 GMT
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Johnny Sexton, Ireland captain, laughs with head coach Andy Farrell, at Aviva Stadium. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)[/caption]
"Maybe Joe Schmidt was a little similar - this is the regime and this is what we're doing. Andy Farrell was involved in that but has come in and said, 'Right, I've seen what works and what doesn't. I want to put my own print on this'. "It's small things - it's getting everyone involved, it's letting players express themselves more. It's even something like the players getting their own coach to training, and there's no staff on that - they have a separate one. So, the players can be more relaxed as opposed to the coaches being on so you have to put your head down and be quiet. It's not like that at all. "Even after that game at the weekend, you can see it with the families and everyone out there. It's all encompassing. It's that happy environment and it's players being allowed to express themselves - Mack Hansen being a huge person to benefit from it. There was that moment [against England] when there was the kicking tennis and Mack thought, 'I've had enough of this'. He went on a run and was slaloming through people. He had a crack back because that's the player he is... it is play your instincts [from Farrell] and the players are embracing it."Even though Farrell does allow the players to make their way to and from training sessions, without coaches or backroom staff crowding them, there is still that hierarchy that exists in so many team bus scenarios. As evidenced from Johnny Sexton's Instagram post, on Sunday, when he shared a picture of the back row big dogs - himself, Cian Healy and Peter O'Mahony. 'Every bus trip, same seats with these two', he wrote. With Sexton and, most likely, Healy set to have their last hurrah at the World Cup, later this year, there will be some shifting about for those prime back row slots in 2024.
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