Positive thinker leading the way

Celtic League: It's an unlikely story, in many ways, how a 24-year-old Aussie ended up captaining Connacht in only his second season here, not to mention the circuitous route he took from the Queensland Reds to Galway via Swansea. But maybe that says something about the modern professional game, and about Andrew Farley himself.

Even a cursory glance at his c.v. suggests he was bound for a longer stay in his native land. The Queensland under-21s, the Australian schools, the Australian under-21s and the Queensland Reds. But there the natural progression stopped for a while, which is perhaps also a comment on the way Australia weren't too quick to bring through young players.

In any event, the pool of second-rows at the Reds limited him to just two Super 12 games, and his impatience, allied to an offer to hook up with John Connolly again at Swansea, saw him wander abroad - as Australians have a habit of doing. When Swansea went into administration, his agent touted his wares and Michael Bradley was the first to come calling.

That he should effectively be chosen by his peers to succeed Tim Allnutt as captain at such a relatively young age reflects the impression he made last season. Farley played in 30 of Connacht's 32 games, and with a striking consistency at that.

"Strictly speaking it (the captaincy) wasn't our decision," reveals Bradley. "Myself and John McKee discussed it with a load of people and it really came down to a choice between him and Bernard Jackman. With Bernard involved in the international set-up, we thought it would be too much additional pressure on him to come back into our set-up as captain.

"Andrew has all the qualities of a good captain," adds his coach. "He leads by example and his maturity belies his age. He's also very proactive off the pitch, talks well and we've been very happy with him as captain."

Farley had some experience of captaincy before at school, Marist Brothers' College in Brisbane - the Alma Mater for such Wallaby luminaries as John Eales, Daniel Herbert and Pat Howard - and his commitment to his new cause is such that he's signed a two-year extension, which will enable him to qualify for Ireland by dint of residency when still only 26.

"Yes, that's part of the plan," says Farley, a bright and innately positive young man. "Brads has shown very good faith in me and I thoroughly enjoyed my first season with Connacht. We had an excellent season and now the challenge is to do even better."

The captaincy is something he sounds eminently at ease with.

"I don't have a problem with speaking in the dressing-room or on the pitch and I do like the organisational side of it. I like to see everything done properly and I like the pressure of it.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like the challenge and the responsibility of reading a game and making the right decisions on the pitch."

You wonder why such a talented and high-profile product of the Australian under-age set-up wasn't inclined to hang around longer, and instead take to first Swansea and then Connacht, but the way he puts it, this odyssey seems the most natural thing in the world.

"At the Queensland Reds there was a very good stock of second-rows. John Eales was there at the time, and Mark Connors, who was at Northampton last season. And Nathan Sharpe was one of the young second-rows coming through. So when John Connolly offered me an opportunity to come over to Swansea I had a long chat with my parents and decided it was too good an opportunity to turn down."

You'd think then that the difficulties in Swansea, with the club going into administration, would lead to dark tales, but again not a bit of it.

"I learnt a lot there. John Connolly is a very good coach. It was tough, but as with all these things there's always a sunny side, and I always try to look at the best possible scenario. So I just got on with my rugby. We had the choice of taking a package and severing our contracts, or play on, and I chose to play on, which was the right thing to do."

Ironically, pretty much unknown to Farley, Connacht had just emerged from a similar crisis, though it probably wouldn't have deterred him anyway. Again, he regarded Connacht's offer as another life-enhancing experience and jumped at it.

"It is an unlikely story, but that's just the way things go. Everything happens in your life for a reason and I've loved every minute of it with Connacht."

Two factors have ensured he hasn't had a moment's regret, and have strengthened his ties to the province. One is Bradley.

"He is an excellent coach, an excellent role model for me. His one-on-one relationship with the players is brilliant. He never leaves a stone unturned and he's always coming up with fresh ideas. As a player, it's always interesting working with him."

The other is the squad spirit, which he describes as better than any he's experienced so far.

"You'd have seen it in our performances last season. The team spirit is such that we just will not give a single inch if we can avoid it. You just wouldn't want to let your team-mates down, there's such a strong bond between us all. We're always willing to fight for the cause."

The highlight of a memorable first season with Connacht was undoubtedly the run to the semi-finals of the Parker Pen European Challenge Cup, which also allowed his English-born father, Terry, and mother, Chris, as well as his English-based brothers Anthony and Daniel, to attend the semi-final first leg in London during his parents' three-week visit here.

"Having my family all there watching me play for Connacht for the first time was a great experience."

Following that, needless to say, he sees as a positive.

"That's a very good source of motivation for us. We've got some new young stock coming through and we've still got a lot of quality older players to guide us through. We've been hot and cold in patches so far, but we're hard, just chipping away, and hopefully we'll be nearing that perfect game by the time the European matches come around."