Defeat to New Zealand is not a disaster in itself but the repeated shortcomings are a worry for Irish head coach
Ireland players, from left, James Ryan, Tadhg Furlong, Josh van der Flier and Rónan Kelleher after their defeat to New Zealand at Soldier Field in Chicago. Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
As he absent-mindedly fidgeted with a dictaphone while fielding questions from reporters deep beneath the Soldier Field stands, Andy Farrell gave an impression of an unhappy man who had somewhere better to be.
It wasn’t so much that the questions were bothering him, it was the sense that there’s no time to be wasted when it comes to fixing the myriad of familiar problems that afflicted his team in Chicago.