Murray Kinsella Reports from the Aviva Stadium

IRELAND BOSS ANDY Farrell said that back row James McNabney is in good spirits after a nasty injury cut his impactful Test debut very short.

Ulster number eight McNabney was sent on in the second half and instantly made two huge carries, only to suffer a head injury as he went close to scoring a try.

Thus ended his three-minute Ireland debut.

The 23-year-old was out on the pitch post-match, however, and Farrell was happy to report that McNabney was in good form back in the Ireland dressing room.

“Well, he’s joking in the changing rooms,” said Farrell after Ireland’s 43-15 win.

“He’s delighted with himself for the shortest cameo of a first cap. I reckon it’s the best cameo of three-and-a-half minutes or whatever it was on a debut in Irish history really.

“He remembers the two breaks that he made, so he seems in good spirits.”

Farrell said it is a shame that McNabney will miss the Springboks game next weekend, given that he was firmly in his thoughts for involvement in that clash.

McNabney will have to undergo a 12-day return-to-play protocol and Farrell agreed that it’s a big shame the Ulster man won’t be in contention for a spot against South Africa.

“He was in our thoughts 100% in regards to next week,” said the Ireland head coach.

Farrell also confirmed that outside centre Jamie Osborne will miss the South Africa game.

The Leinster man was replaced in just the fourth minute and looked crestfallen.

“Yeah, poor lad,” said Farrell.

It looks like a pec muscle, so that doesn’t look too good when he’s coming off after the first contact.

“They got into the hole just on the outside of him. His body wasn’t behind him. I think he just reached out like that and felt it straight away, so not great for him.”

Replacement tighthead prop Sam Illo is a major doubt after he sustained a head injury having come on in the second half.

Farrell confirmed that Connacht man Illo has entered into the head injury assessment protocols.

Speaking about the performance, Farrell leaned towards a positive review of his side’s seven-try win against Fiji.

Ireland had lots of first-half frustrations but pulled clear of their visitors in the second half.

“I’m pleased to get the win, especially the scoreline,” said Farrell.

I thought it flattered us a little bit, but having said that, you’ve got to work for those points and find a way, especially when after 25 minutes you’re down by five points against a side that’s playing pretty well as far as the physical nature of the game.

“I thought they was winning collisions, was good in the air, good on the floor, running really physically through the line, and the breakdown was pretty good, so they was on a roll, and when you’ve seen them like that before, you’ve seen them take some big scalps.

“So to come through with that scoreline and how we got ourselves back in the game, brought a bit of energy back to our game, which was a stop-start type game that we contributed to with a few errors, etc.

“But, you know, a stop-start nature in regards to having a look at ‘try or no try’ and how long that was and all of that, all in all, I think we need to understand that winning when you’re under a bit of pressure, they’re all pretty precious.”