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Saturday’s game, which has been arranged to celebrate the Irish Rugby Football Union [IRFU]’s 150th anniversary celebrations, pits Farrell against his predecessor Joe Schmidt, who took over as Australia boss in January. <\/p>\n
Schmidt won three Six Nations titles and secured a first win over the All Blacks in six years as Ireland boss after a successful stint in charge of Leinster.<\/p>\n
Farrell said Schmidt “deserves all the accolades and probably more” for his “phenomenal” achievements with Ireland. <\/p>\n
“He’s the most successful coach in Irish rugby when you look at his time overall in Dublin,” added Farrell.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got a lot to thank him about and I think it’s a nice story that we get to celebrate this game alongside him.<\/p>\n
“I’m very grateful for that opportunity to Joe and David Nucifora [former IRFU high performance director] for bringing me over here. <\/p>\n
“On top of that, the experience I gained under Joe, seeing how he does it on the inside has been invaluable to me and everyone who’s been coached by him. That’s a privilege. <\/p>\n
“Coaching against him with New Zealand, that wasn’t as high profile because he wasn’t the head coach, but it was because you could see his DNA all over that anyway. <\/p>\n
“We’ve been here before a little bit, when he comes back to these shores it’s a little bit different because he should be celebrated for everything he’s done for Irish rugby.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n