Andy Farrell says that Ireland won’t be distracted from preparing to play New Zealand by the absence of Paddy Jackson, writes Stephen Barry.

The Ulster out-half was left out of the squad after he was questioned, along with teammate Stuart Olding, about alleged sexual offences.

Ulster released a statement saying the two players have been “assisting the PSNI with enquiries” and that both “deny any wrongdoing”.

Farrell, the Ireland defence coach, was asked about the matter at a press conference in Trump Tower, Chicago.

“There’s been a bit said about it already and Ulster have come out and made a statement this morning,” he said.

“We’ll reference you to that and we’ll get on with our own business.

“We’ve got a big week ahead of us here in Chicago (with) little preparation. Our focus has to be on the game and we’ll make no further comment.

“We’ve got a big job ahead of us this week with our preparation, etc., so I hope you’ll respect that.”

Farrell didn’t confirm whether Jackson would be available for the remainder of the Autumn International Series in Dublin.

Ireland will have a day-off on Wednesday, before training Thursday and a captain’s run on Friday, the day before the game.

But the truncated build-up doesn’t give Ireland any excuses as they attempt to beat the All Blacks for the first time in 29 attempts.

“International rugby is all about adaption. There are no excuses. You would like the perfect preparation but you never get it in international rugby,” insisted Farrell.

“We’re at different stages of the season. Their season allows them to get here early, have the weekend off, have a full week’s preparation, get over the jet lag, etc. But ours didn’t and there’s no excuse.

“We dust ourselves down and we get on with it. We’ve had a couple of days’ training in preparation and, as I said, our focus has just got to be on ourselves and getting ourselves prepared.

“We’re a bit into the week and we’ve still got a lot to do.”