Will Andy Farrell get the adoration Jack Charlton got?

Soccer and rugby are very different. Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales are all ranked in the top 7 in the world in rugby. And those other three teams are considered to be on relatively bad form in recent times. But given that the sport is barely played to any real degree outside of these isles and some other countries you can count on one hand, it's barely imaginable for Ireland to drop out of the top 8.

Whereas in soccer, there are dozens upon dozens of competitive teams. Sure, there are 10ish "superpowers" that almost always win, but that's because the bar is so high at the top, not because other countries don't play. Also it's a major stretch to say the top teams in soccer and rugby are the same. As I mentioned, Wales and Scotland are near the top in rugby and nowhere in soccer. And where are Germany, Brazil, Spain, Holland etc in rugby?

Even getting into the top 50 in the world in soccer is a good achievement for a country the size of Ireland, never mind getting to a world cup quarter final.

Jack Charlton was a huge part of the cultural zeitgeist of Ireland at the time.

Andy Farrell hasn't even emulated Joe Schmidt yet.

And if they lose on Saturday then he will just be yet another Ireland rugby manager who won a 6 nations but couldn't cut it at the big boys table.

If he does win the world cup, he still won't emulate Charlton because the world isn't like that anymore, a week later the event junkies will have moved on to the next bandwagon and Farrell will be yesterdays news.

That's very true

It was a different era.

If Charlton came along in this day and age and got a team that had never qualified for anything to a Euros and world cup I don't think he would even get the adulation he got back then.

No chance a rugby coach or team gets it.

Were all part of Andy’s army!

If Ireland win the Rugby World Cup he's guaranteed to get a yearly slot on The Late Late show.

So it's not all good news.

Pointless discussion right now.

Jack took the Irish team to places it had never even been close to before.

Andy has taken the Irish team to where they have almost always gotten to. They are in the last 8 out of 9 teams, the absolute bare minimum expected of an Irish rugby team.

Maybe in a few weeks, it might be a bit of a discussion, but if Ireland lose next weekend, then Andy is going to be very quickly forgotten.

On reading the title, I immediately wondered had Kenny been sacked.

We're 35 years on from the Charlton era, the Country is basically a different Universe than the Italia 90 I remember as a 14 year old.

1990 was the emergence of the Country from the economic doldrums, unemployment, emigration, greyness. The football team became a totem, a beacon of hope.

Thats just not needed now and rugby isn't as universal as soccer was and is.

And so if Ireland won the rugby world cup, it would be a massive achievement by the players and coaches and the model that the IRFU have developed and got behind, but would it be life changing for the citizenry of Ireland? No.

If they win, the Irish public might actually know who he is (never knew before this thread).

Jack brought the Country to it's first competitive football international tournaments ever in Euro 88 and Itlay 90 after years of recessions and immigration nothing will ever top the joy and happiness he and those player brought the Country as a whole during those years.

It was the beginning of Irish people feeling they could do anything they wanted and it lead to the prosperity of the 90s and 00's until a generation took it too far during the Celtic Tiger years.

Andy is doing a great job and if he wins the Rugby World Cup he can be considered a legand in Irish sport however he and the players will never reach the levels Jack and the Irish soccer team reached.

That isn't what they said in later posts. Born in Ireland.

As a football (soccer) person I'd say Farrell deserves the same praise as Charlton if he wins the WC.