British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell is watching this year’s Six Nations unfold without leading an Ireland team this year.
The 49-year-old Briton led Ireland to six Nations titles but is taking a sabbatical from his role coaching the Lions on their tour of Australia this summer.
“It will be interesting to watch from the sideline, it will be a little different watching the Six Nations from the sideline,” Farrell told RTE.
“Good luck to everyone as well as the big games in Europe, URC and Premiership.”
Simon Easterby took over from Farrell as interim head coach as Ireland bid for a third successive Six Nations victory.
Farrell succeeded Warren Gatland as Lions head coach after serving as an assistant for the 2013 and 2017 series.
He will prepare the Lions for a 10-match campaign that ends with the opening Test against Argentina in Dublin and a three-Test series against Australia in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Farrell added that he was just focused on picking the right team for the Lions.
“This is always the head coach’s job. Everyone always asks about the difficult decisions, but it’s my job to make sure the team does the right thing.
“The team I will be coaching in the summer is the British and Irish Lions.”
