When Joe Schmidt revealed his plans to step down as Ireland head coach following the 2019 Rugby World Cup, his assistant coach Andy Farrell emerged as the man to take over the reins.
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The former England international officially surpassed Schmidt to the mantle following Ireland’s quarter-final elimination to the All Blacks, with Farrell’s first match coming the following year. The former Wigan Warriors rugby league player stepped up to oversee Ireland’s 2020 Six Nations campaign, with the first match being a 19-12 win over Scotland for a steady start to his tenure.
Farrell has held the head coach position ever since, and has guided his Ireland team to an assortment of silverware. The men in green secured back-to-back Six Nations titles in 2023 and 2024, with the former accomplishment also bringing Ireland their first Grand Slam since 2018. Part of this more recent success has come down to Farrell and the coaching team bringing through and nurturing the best Irish talent found anywhere across the island.
In this article, we are taking a look back at the first five Ireland internationals to make their senior test debuts under Andy Farrell as head coach. Whilst some of these fresh faces fell to the way-side, others have proven to stand the test of time and remain firmly within the foundations of today’s Ireland team.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ANDY FARRELL’S FIRST 5 IRELAND DEBUTANTS
CAELAN DORIS
We start off this list with quite a stand-out name from the Ireland team, as Andy Farrell’s first ever debutant as head coach was none other than current captain Caelan Doris. The back row battler earned his call-up for the 2020 Six Nations, having impressed in Leinster blue over the previous seasons. Doris was utilised for the first match of the Farrell era, however a concussion just four minutes into the match against Scotland made it quite the short-lived debut for the man from County Mayo.
Nontheless, Doris had already proved his worth in the eyes of his new head coach, with his big break in green coming throughout the 2021 Autumn Nations against Japan, New Zealand and Argentina. The Leinster man etched his first points upon an international score-board in the clash with the All Blacks, with his career trajectory then propelled onwards into becoming a test match main-stay. In 2023, Doris was named Ireland Men’s Players’ Player of the Year, after a starring role throughout the Rugby World Cup.
Following the retirement of Johnny Sexton after the tournament in France, Doris would be named Ireland captain for the 2024 Six Nations. The back-row forward has held on to this title ever since, and was rumored to take up the armband for the 2025 British & Irish Lions, before a devastating rotator cuff injury denied him a place upon Andy Farrell’s touring squad. Doris is back fit and firing now, with his sights set on leading Ireland to their first Rugby World Cup title next year in Australia.
