Andy Farrell

Andy Farrell
Farrell in 2020
Personal information
Full nameAndrew David Farrell
Born (1975-05-30) 30 May 1975
Wigan, England
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Relative(s)Owen Farrell (son)
Phil Farrell (brother)
Liam Farrell (cousin)
Connor Farrell (cousin)
Sean O'Loughlin (brother-in-law)
Rugby league career
Playing information
PositionLoose forward, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1991–2004 Wigan 370 111 1336 19 3,135
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1993–2004 Great Britain 34 4 59 0 134
1995–2001 England 11 3 33 0 78
2001–2003 Lancashire 3 0 10 0 20
Source:
Sport
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre, Fly-half, Flanker
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2005–2009 Saracens 28 (12)
Correct as of 14 May 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007 England 8 (5)
Correct as of 14 May 2023
Coaching career
Years Team
2010–2012 Saracens
2011–2015 England (assistant)
2013 British & Irish Lions (defence)
2016–2019 Ireland (assistant)
2019– Ireland
2025 British & Irish Lions
Correct as of 24 August 2025

Andrew David Farrell (born 30 May 1975) is an English professional rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union footballer. Farrell has been head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team since 2019.

Farrell earned 34 caps for Great Britain and 11 for England in rugby league, including the 1995 and 2000 World Cups, and 8 for England in rugby union, including the 2007 World Cup.

He was a goal-kicking loose forward in rugby league, who played for Wigan between 1991 and 2004, winning six Championships and four Challenge Cups, as well as the Man of Steel award twice. He frequently captained Wigan, England and Great Britain. In rugby union, he played for Saracens from 2005 to 2009, mostly as a centre.

After retiring as a player, Farrell continued in rugby union as a coach, working as an assistant coach with Saracens, Munster, England, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. He became head coach of Ireland in 2019. He coached them to a 2–1 series victory in New Zealand in 2022 and two consecutive Six Nations Championships wins in 2023 and 2024, including a Grand Slam in 2023.

In January 2024, Farrell was appointed coach of the British & Irish Lions for their tour of Australia in 2025. The Lions won the test series 2–1.