Opportunity finally knocks for the Dubliner who, at 32, is playing his best rugby
06:00, 21 Oct 2025Updated 07:51, 21 Oct 2025
Leinster’s Garry Ringrose and Munster’s Tom Farrell after the latest Croke Park clash(Image: ©INPHO/Ben Brady)
Tom Farrell’s belated Chicago call-up has come after he believed his Test hopes were over.
Opportunity finally knocks for the Dubliner who, at 32, is playing his best rugby. After moving from Connacht to Munster in the summer of 2024, Farrell turned it on for Munster and was their player of the season last term.
But he didn’t get selected for the much-changed Ireland summer series squad, though many frontliners were with the British and Irish Lions.
He has also hit the ground running this season and, if not making Andy Farrell’s original November squad provided further fuel, he raced into contention for a late call with a top-level performance against Leinster at Croke Park.
With Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw travelling after suffering knocks and Mack Hansen ruled out, Farrell has added his namesake and Jimmy O’Brien as backs cover.
“I’m taking some credit for Tom,” smiled assistant coach John Fogarty, who first coached Farrell while at Leinster’s under-20s. “I told him downstairs I was trying to get him in for a long time now so I’m glad he’s here. It’s brilliant for him, he’s buzzing as well, so hugely excited for him.
“He’s always had an ability to make line breaks, to deal with a defender in front of him, to get through contact, to be able to offload. So he’s always had a point of difference. He’s been really consistent, I know it’s only a couple of games in but he stood out, himself and (Alex) Nankivell, he’s done a great job in Munster throughout last season.”
For Fogarty, Farrell’s elevation to the Test arena provides a lesson to other Ireland hopefuls who feel frustrated to be left out.
“This is the thing, we’ve got four teams, four provinces and I’m sure there’s times that there’s players that think ‘it’s gone past me’ or ‘it’s not for me’,” he reflected.
“It’s staying consistent in what you’re doing, knowing your point of difference and having that belief to put it on the pitch. He’s done that.
Tom Farrell of Munster in action during the Champions Cup quarter-final match against Bordeaux at Stade Chaban-Delmas on April 12, 2025 in Bordeaux(Image: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)
“He’s an abrasive player and like I said, he’s an exciting attacking player. He’s been consistent in what he’s doing and fair play to him. He’s rightly here and he’ll get his chance. We’ll see him in training every day and I hope he goes well, he’s a great guy and we’ll see.”
Ireland skipper Caelan Doris is making progress but the All Blacks clash is expected to come too soon for the Mayo man. He has been out of action since needing surgery after Leinster’s Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton Saints in May.
Doris was back doing modified contact work with Leinster last week, but his provincial colleague Jack Conan is favourite to wear the No.8 jersey on Saturday week as long as he fully recovers from a twisted knee that he suffered last week.
“He’s in great form, he’s fizzing away,” said Fogarty of Doris. “There’s a nice mood to him, how he’s talking to lads, how he’s speaking to us. He’s a very measured guy, Caelan.
“He’s in a great place. I know his return to play has been really, really good. They’re really, really happy with where he’s at. I’m sure he’s full of energy to get a green jersey on.
“We’re excited that he’s back and he looks really, really good. I don’t know his plan over the next couple of days, we’ve two, three sessions on the pitch, Saturday and Thursday will be performance days.
“So if he’s in those games, then we’ll see where he’s at for New Zealand week, but I know that he did some modified contact last week, which is a good thing, and he’s in a great place, so we’re hearing.”
Leinster’s Caelan Doris after the defeat to Munster in Croke Park(Image: ©INPHO/Tom Maher)
Fogarty wasn’t a member of Joe Schmidt’s coaching team when Ireland finally beat New Zealand for the first time at Soldier Field nine years ago. He insists that the famous victory has little relevance in regard to what’s to come in 11 days’ time.
“I remember watching and being overjoyed because you’re almost shocked and surprised,” he said. “It was brilliant for Irish rugby. I don’t think there’s a huge significance to this group.
“It’s a cool fixture to have, but we should be competing with the best in the world every time we take the pitch. We’re not sitting in fear, we’re excited with the challenge and should be expecting the best of ourselves.
“I’m sure there’s a bit of hoping that things would go well, years ago. I think there’s an expectation within the group that we need to be competing with these teams every time we take the pitch.
“There should be nothing else in our mind, our mentality has to be that and we need to push ourselves right now, not wait and see what happens or hope things go well. We need to be front foot in everything, in how we prepare for this game.”
There are concerns that Ireland’s Leinster Lions contingent haven’t started the season well but Fogarty points to Farrell and a lot of his coaching staff working with them over the summer in Australia.
“They’re seasoned campaigners, a lot of them,” he said. “They’ve done that well for us in the past. We’ll make things really, really clear for them. For those guys, the mental pitch that they need to be at so that they can perform against the best teams in the world is hugely important.
“So they have a little bit of time to reflect on where they’re at, where they need to be, but we have every confidence in them to get up to speed.
They understand how important November is and they understand the importance of playing in this group, playing in an Irish jersey, representing Ireland.
“All these things are hugely important to all of us and it’s such a great opportunity. We have every confidence that they will be up to the right pitch come Soldier Field.”