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27th November 2018
03:56pm GMT

Farrell, who joined the Ireland set-up in 2016 ahead of the summer tour of South Africa, has been credited as the defensive guru of the national team's success in recent years and was quite happy to succeed Schmidt next year."The feedback from Farrell with England was always positive so where was the necessity to ditch him after the World Cup?," Woodward questioned in his Daily Mail column.
"The RFU have never grasped the nettle and put a rugby man with the necessary experience in charge of rugby appointments and the result has been a succession of CEOs — with no experience of coaching national teams — making these crucial, sometimes nuanced decisions.
"It’s a flawed system that fails to acknowledge English coaching talent like Farrell and to keep them on board."
"It is a privilege to be considered for such a prestigious role," Farrell said. "I have learned a lot from Joe over the past few seasons and I will continue to learn from him over the next year as the coaching group and players focus on competing in two huge tournaments in 2019."Meanwhile Joe Schmidt has assured concerned supporters that Irish Rugby is in safe hands with Farrell at the helm.
"The coaches have been fantastic to work with and Andy has made a big impact since coming into the group," Schmidt said of his successor. "His ability to lead and his understanding of the game will ensure that the group will continue to move forward."
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