Ireland head coach Andy Farrell expects 'discussions' over future amid Saracens link

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Reports linking Andy Farrell with the Saracens job will not distract Ireland's head coach from the ongoing Six Nations campaign. The 50-year-old has addressed the rumours and insisted he is focused solely on his role with Ireland, before Friday night's clash with Wales in Dublin. Farrell is out of contract after next year's World Cup but said talks with the IRFU will begin soon.

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Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has addressed speculation linking him with a move to Gallagher PREM side Saracens next year.

The former England international claimed he is fully focused on the ongoing Six Nations and that he will hold talks with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) when the campaign ends.

Farrell previously played for and coached Saracens, where his son, Owen, has spent most of his career.

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But he suggested that the rumors that he was returning were simply "people putting two and two together and making five".

Farrell, as reported by RTE Sport, said: "I mean, you'd expect me to say that I'm here to just concentrate on the Six Nations and what will be, will be in the future.

"I suppose it's people [putting] two and two together and making five with the connections: good friends with the owner, Owen's there, all of that.

"You can see why that's happened but I suppose we'll sit down and have discussions with the IRFU in the near future, that's for sure."

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Saracens, meanwhile, denied that any approach had been made to Farrell.

"Saracens would like to address recent media speculation linking Andy Farrell with a coaching role at the club," the London club said in a statement.

"Andy has not discussed his future with anyone on the board or ownership group of Saracens and we can categorically state, despite numerous reports to the contrary in the press, that no offer has been made to Andy."

The statement added: "Andy has long-standing and deep personal ties to Saracens.

"He represented the club as a player between 2005 and 2009 and remains closely affiliated with the club through his family, as the father of Owen Farrell, one of the most significant players in Saracens’ history and a current member of the squad.

"Given Andy’s close relationship with Saracens, the club looks forward to welcoming him to more home fixtures once the Six Nations Championship has concluded."

Farrell's immediate focus will be on attempting to close the gap to France at the top of the Six Nations table.

Ireland have won two and lost one of their three matches so far, responding from defeat to France in Paris with a win over Italy and an impressive 42-21 victory over England last time out.

They host winless Wales in Dublin on Friday night and will be strong favorites, but Farrell has warned against complacency.

"It's been written many times about the decline [of Wales] and how unfortunate it's been, but at the same time we're playing them in a Test match on Friday night and, from what I've seen from game one, like ourselves, they've got better every week," he said.

"Last week, they came very close to winning against a very strong Scottish squad. Therefore, we've heard from the Welsh camp the confidence they've got from that.

"They're coming to Dublin on a Friday night with a spring in their step. We've heard that they're very familiar with how our lads play, because of the familiarity with the URC and all of that.

"What influences that is probably the result last year against us, so it's up to us to show that we've moved on as well."

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