Latest news with #JohnFarrell
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ireland forwards coach Cullie Tucker explains how squad fix scrum problems on the fly
Cullie Tucker was the more visible, but John Farrell, sitting on one of two stools close to the touchline at the Mikheil Meskhi stadium last Saturday night, also played a pivotal role in solving Ireland's scrum issues that surfaced in the first half against Georgia. Irish forwards coach Tucker ran the water into the team during stoppages. But when the need arose he made a beeline for the second seat as Farrell, one of two video analysts alongside Brian Colclough, provided half a dozen angles to scrutinise the scrum footage. This enabled Tucker to try to problem solve on the hoof, long before the interval where he was able to directly address the glitches. Sitting in a Portakabin that was more sauna than refuge from the sweltering Portuguese heat at the Irish training venue on the outskirts of Lisbon on Tuesday, he offered an insight into the interaction. 'I take a look at the scrum live, ideally it would be close to me,' Tucker explained. 'One of the analysts has a feed on the sideline, so I can go over directly to him, and he'll have five or six angles there that I can flick through, [to see] how we're getting into the scrum or what our height is like post-entry.' READ MORE Tucker looks for a pattern to see if there is a recurring glitch. The message going into the players has to be succinct, drilling to the core of the problem, and offering a redress in real time. He continued: 'We started well, got a penalty advantage on the first [scrum] and managed to turn them over. '[Then] the binding phase just got messy. The key to any scrum, really, is how balanced it is on both sides before you can get in. So, that was a big fix-up, and for us, from about 20 minutes to a 20-minute period in the second half, we just weren't getting into the scrum well enough. They were getting in better than us. 'It came down to the binding phase and how we were setting up. So, we had a couple of tweaks at half-time, and looked at a couple of clips. With a big scrum just after half-time then, ours was far better than it had been the previous 20 minutes. It got us back to where we wanted to be as an Irish scrum. '[The players] have to be able to apply whatever messaging we're giving, and they have to be able to tell me how they're feeling on the pitch as well, which is huge around scrummaging. It's a credit to them, and I think it's a great learning [experience] to go through. 'It's a dark place to get into, and to find some light out of it I think is very, very important, and to come out the other side of it. Finishing three penalties all against them – I was disappointed to lose one on our own put-in for sure – but to turn one over on them as well let us come out of the game fairly positive and feeling good about how we're going and where we need our scrum to be.' Darragh Murray had a good day against Georgia and is hoping for another one in Portugal. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho Ireland's lineout work was first class, Ryan Baird terrorising the Georgian throw, while Darragh Murray, on debut, did the calling on the team's throw. Tucker, who took over as interim head coach from Pete Wilkins at Connacht during last season, is well versed in the qualities of the 24-year-old secondrow, with whom he works on a daily basis. If others, including Murray by his own admission after the game, were a little nervous about how it might go, Tucker wasn't. 'I have known Darragh for a long time now. He's a very calm individual, a very intelligent rugby player,' said Tucker. 'He takes stuff on very, very quickly, but Paul's [O'Connell, Ireland's interim head coach] coaching is to the fore there, [and also] the work John Muldoon has done [with Murray] in Connacht. He's a sponge for that kind of information, and he's a smart rugby player. You have to be able to call a lineout. 'Himself and Bairdo [Ryan Baird], there's a lot of good [rugby] IP there as well, which they're constantly sharing. They prepared really well during the week for the pictures that were coming, and they were able to react on the pitch as well. So, it was a good day for Darragh.' [ Ireland's six debutants against Georgia: What they said and what song they sang Opens in new window ] Tucker will work under Connacht's new head coach Stuart Lancaster next season but he's enjoyed the interim responsibility and also being part of the Ireland coaching set-up for the two-Test summer tour. 'I'm way better for the experience of running an entire programme and stepping up here, working with different coaches, and experiencing international rugby players. 'When I sit down and reflect at the end of the season, I'm going to be a far better coach on the back of it. It's been great experiences, loads of learning, and I think it'll definitely kick me on in my career.' On a more serious note, with Scott Wilson's departure for home and Murray's decision to cut his hair, Tucker no longer has any meaningful competition for the best mullet hairstyle.
Global News
02-07-2025
- Business
- Global News
‘Our town's going to collapse': Northern B.C. businesses demand Ottawa revisit immigration, work permit cuts
Community leaders in Northern B.C. are demanding action from Ottawa to address a workforce crisis they claim is threatening businesses. Prince Rupert is home to the third largest port in the country and, according to the Community Futures Development Corporation, offers unionized jobs which allow young people to move up quickly and afford a house within three years. But executive director John Farrell says the local economy in the northwest coast city of 14,000, is at risk due to federal government changes to immigration and work permit policies. 'Right now, we have two permits that are under siege,' Farrell told the business community at a Northern BC Call to Action session on June 25. The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, which fuels the service industry, and provides 90 per cent of the staff at Farrell's restaurant, Opa Sushi and the international student program, recently underwent significant cuts. Story continues below advertisement International students he said, are no longer going through the program at the local college. 'That pipeline was cut by the federal government,' Farrell told Global News in an interview. 2:15 B.C. ironworkers union pitching change to foreign workers program amid U.S. tariff threats In 2024, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada capped study permit applications in an effort to ease the strain on housing, health care and other services – a measure it said has reduced the number of incoming international students by about 40 per cent. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy As of Sept. 26, 2024, employers can hire no more than 10 per cent of their total workforce through the TFW program, and workers can only stay for one year instead of two. 'We're capped, we can't bring any more workers in,' said Farrell. 'So once a worker leaves, we're just that much further down the hole.' Story continues below advertisement At the local McDonald's, temporary foreign workers make up more than 60 per cent of the workforce. 'The domestic workforce just simply is not available,' manager Michael Seabrook told the community meeting June 25. 'These individuals are not just filling positions, they're the reason our business is able to operate day in and day out.' 2:09 Canada's internal government polls reveal attitudes on immigration At Ray Pedersen's construction company, most of the employees are foreign workers on temporary VISAs. 'My business would disappear overnight and all my customers would be disappointed if we didn't have the guys we need to deliver the service they need,' said the Pedersen-Gruppen Enterprises CEO. 'If we don't stem these policies and actually think about the northwest of B.C. as different, then really our town's going to collapse,' warned Farrell. Story continues below advertisement Farrell said the community is asking the federal government to reconsider the impact of the immigration and TFW policies, and will be sending a formal 'Northern BC Call to Action' document to Parliament on behalf of the region. 'Given the immense wealth that we generate in the northwest, it doesn't make economic sense for Ottawa to be punishing us so severely,' Farrell told Global News.
USA Today
18-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Q&A: Protecting Harbour Town, the Wrigley Field and Fenway Park of the PGA Tour
Q&A: Protecting Harbour Town, the Wrigley Field and Fenway Park of the PGA Tour On May 5, two weeks after the finish of the RBC Heritage, the Pete Dye-designed Harbour Town Golf Links will close for an extensive restoration project. Serving as the player consultant for the restoration will be five-time RBC Heritage winner Davis Love III and his company Love Golf Design, who were also responsible for the Atlantic Dunes course at The Sea Pines Resort. Harbour Town is scheduled to reopen in November. Originally designed by Pete Dye with his wife Alice and the assistance of Jack Nicklaus – working on one of his first architectural projects – Harbour Town opened in 1969 and has hosted the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage ever since. The tournament has produced one of the game's most impressive list of winners, from Arnold Palmer in the inaugural event to Nicklaus, Johnny Miller (twice), and Tom Watson (twice) in the early days to Greg Norman, Payne Stewart, Jordan Spieth, and Scottie Scheffler more recently. In a recent interview, Love and Sea Pines Director of Sports Operations John Farrell offered insight into the restoration. Q: Describe the project. Davis Love III:It started as a redo of the infrastructure, then as the team talked about it – Allan McCurrach from McCurrach Construction, PGA Tour vice president of design Steve Wenzloff, Jon Wright, Head Golf Superintendent, Harbour Town Golf Links, John Farrell, the Goodwins who own Sea Pines, and some others – questions kept coming up. 'Is there anything that we're missing?' 'Have things changed from Pete Dye's original concept?' 'What can we do this time so we don't have to do any more work for a long time?' These are all people who have the utmost respect for Pete Dye and what he did on this golf course. We all are committed to protecting the strategy and integrity of Pete's design. John Farrell: Davis is just as respectful to the history of the golf course as the rest of us. He's said he doesn't want to put his name on the scorecard; this is still going to be a Pete Dye golf course. There won't be places where people go, 'Oh my goodness, where did this come from?' Most changes will have to be pointed out to people, whether they are the Tour pros who come back once a year or our members. Q: What sort of changes have taken place over the years that you'll look at? DLIII: I see a few things, but I really can't come up with any crazy changes. It's still the original, honest Pete Dye strategy. There's less sand around the green at 7, the dirt is a little higher around the boards at 13, the pot bunker at 14 is maybe not as hard as it was while the bunker at 16 looks a little different than what Pete built. We were able to refer to lots of photographs and video of the early days and we can add back some of what we see in those old pictures. Q: How will you balance making changes for both the pro and the resort guest or member, the average golfer? DLIII: I think we can grab a little length here and there to protect the course from modern Tour pros. But we have to protect it from people playing from the forward tees, too; they should enjoy it and be fairly challenged. Not every hole will be easy, but not all of them hard, either. We recently talked to a foursome of members playing 14. At that hole, average golfers almost all avoid the pot bunker long left. But if you want to get on the green on Sunday of the tournament when the pin is way back, you have to challenge it, and if you pull your shot, it's a big penalty. That's what Pete intended. JF: I just talked to a group of resort guests who loved the course. They said, 'There aren't many other courses when you can hit it in the fairway and still have to shape it around a tree to get to the pin.' You have to shape your shots, hit it high, low, turn it right, turn it left. You're going to have 14 dirty clubs when you're finished. DLIII: We need the tee on number 2 that's back across the road to make it long enough for longer hitters. But we won't change the green complex because it's brilliant, it does so many things in a small space. It's a masterpiece and needs to be protected. How else is Harbour Town special? DLIII: Think about great courses like Oakmont and Chicago Golf Club. They were built in fields and then someone had to come up with strategies and fill in the space. But Pete carved Harbour Town out of the woods. No one had ever done that before! He went through the woods and left trees in place as hazards. The 8th hole is just incredible genius because of the pine trees, the oak tree, and one little hazard. You have to drive it the right distance down the right side. It's the simplest hole, but I remember making a triple bogey there during the tournament. If you don't play it the way Pete wanted you to, if you get too aggressive, you're going to pay a price. Coming down number 2 there's a little waste area 30-40 yards short of the green. Those oak trees protect from long hitters going at any right hole position. If you get way down the left perfectly so the trees on the left aren't in the way, you can bounce the ball onto the green. Going down the right side, you can be blocked. I was once by the trees on the right and tried hitting a 6-iron over them. I got it high enough – and ended up in the bleachers. JF: Trees can be in the way on 14 holes. You have to look at the tee location sheet before you play. DLIII: Another reason we want to keep Pete's design is that anybody can win on that golf course. The tournament has always been won by the top players of their generation, but not all the same kind of player. Long hitters and short hitters; tall players and short players. Anybody who is playing well can win. That's what I always explained in the press room after I won: Coming when the tournament did, I was ready for the Masters. I was playing good golf and my game came out on a course that rewards the best player for that week. It's not lucky. If a guy is putting great, Harbour Town is a great place for it. If he's hitting his driver – or in my day his 1- or 2-iron – well, he's going to get rewarded. Look at the winners: Jack Nicklaus and Stewart Cink. Boo Weekley, Loren Roberts, the great putters. You certainly never would have picked in 1987 that the longest player on Tour was going to win. JF: Tom Doak was here and said, 'Please tell me you're not going to tinker with a course that revolutionized course design. You're one of the few that didn't mess up a Pete Dye design.' Then Davis said the same thing. There's no ego here, there's no one saying 'I want to show what I've got.' The job here is to honor Pete Dye. That's why we are very deliberately calling this project a restoration in respect to Pete's original design. DLIII: I've heard it referred to as a 'refresh.' JF: It's really a golf course protection process. Harbour Town is the Wrigley Field or the Fenway Park of the PGA Tour. We need to protect it.
