Ireland head coach Andy Farrell 'mapping out' route to more trophies after Six Nations Triple Crown win - 'There are going to be a lot of firsts'

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Andy Farrell believes the future is bright for an Ireland squad that is beginning to develop fresh strength in depth after they defeated Scotland to seal a fourth Six Nations Triple Crown in five years. Ireland began the competition with a defeat away to France but captain Caelan Doris said the team showed "good resolve" in bouncing back by winning their next four matches.

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Ireland can get even better over the coming years after lifting their fourth Triple Crown in five years, according to head coach Andy Farrell.

The team beat Scotland 43-21 in a pulsating encounter in Dublin but were denied the Six Nations title after France earned a thrilling victory over England.

However, Farrell believes the future is bright for his team.

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"We talked during the week about the next 18 months and how we are going to map it out, and what we're trying to chase down," said Farrell.

"There are going to be a lot of firsts that can happen, and how difficult the road is going to be, but the thing is making sure you grow the squad to be able to do that, and the belief with it."

Captain Caelan Doris spoke about the "depth" in Farrell's squad. "It has been a good journey," he said. "We have shown good resolve in bouncing back. The Italy performance wasn't great, but we got the win, and it's been fairly linear in terms of trajectory since then.

"It's a great group. There's depth building, and competition building, in the squad. We're moving in the right way and it's been enjoyable chasing some of the potential over the weeks."

Doris praised the "calm heads" in the Ireland team against a Scotland side that had beaten France a week earlier.

"We asked for a big performance from some of our senior players and big-match players, and they stood up," Doris told ITV.

"The likes of Tadhg Beirne, some of the turnovers he got were crucial. We saw what their attack was capable of last week [against France] and again today it came in waves, but our defence stood up, and big moments helped keep them out.

Scotland's Rory Darge is tackled by Ireland's Tom O'Toole

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"There were some calm heads in there, which was helped by the fact we had scoreboard pressure throughout from a fast start which we aimed for as well. It felt composed out there, and it was good.

"There's unbelievable experience built by this group, and showed the competition and depth in the squad. Long may it continue."

Meanwhile, Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu said he was "gutted" by the result.

"We really set our sights on coming here and getting a result, but Ireland were too good today," he told BBC Scotland.

"I think we've made progression but we want to be where these guys are with a trophy."

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