IRELAND INTERIM HEAD coach Simon Easterby was pleased with how his entire matchday 23 contributed to their 27-22 bonus-point win over England in their Six Nations opener.
Easterby’s men were wasteful in good positions in the first half and trailed 10-5 at the break but the pressure told in the second 40 minutes as they turned on the power and class to earn their bonus point.
There is plenty to improve upon ahead of next Sunday’s round two visit to Scotland, but Easterby was a happy man after his first game in charge.
“I thought the guys that started laid a strong foundation and it wasn’t easy going, it was tough at times,” said Easterby.
“It was physical, it was what you’d expect from an Ireland-England game.
“The guys that came off the bench benefitted from the work that had been done in the first 50 to 60 minutes. To be fair to the guys who came off the bench, they were brilliant, they really impacted the game, but I do think the guys who started got through a lot of work.
“It was tough going at times, it was attritional, there were a lot of challenges in the air and on the ground and we dealt with most of those, but we benefitted with some real impetus off the bench.”
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Returning hooker Dan Sheehan was brilliant in the second half, while Jack Conan also made a big impact off the bench and out-half Jack Crowley was impressive in the final quarter.
Sam Prendergast had been given the nod to start this Six Nations clash and while everything didn’t go his way, he had some superb moments, including the long-range penalty that nudged Ireland ahead for the first time in the game.
Easterby felt both out-halves contributed to the victory.
“I thought Sam was excellent at times, he really created a couple of nice opportunities,” said the Ireland boss.
Simon Easterby with Ireland captain Caelan Doris. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“We felt like in the autumn that Jack came on and impacted the Australia game and he did the same again and finished the game off well.”
Easterby didn’t appear to be concerned by Ireland’s error-strewn first-half performance, giving England credit for their part in frustrating his team.
“I think the first half, it’s first round of the Six Nations, England here in Dublin, it’s always going to be a bit of an arm-wrestle. It’s nothing we didn’t expect.
“We had to find a way. I thought we played well in patches in the first half, we didn’t quite get our accuracy right, and that’s probably why the scoreline was in their favour.
“We felt at half time if we did a few things better, that we would get the rewards, and we did that.”
The big personnel concern arising from this win was tighthead prop Finlay Bealham, who limped off in the second half with a leg injury. Bealham started in the absence of Tadhg Furlong, who is sidelined with a calf injury, so seeing the Connacht man forced off was a worry.
“We’re still unsure what it was or what it is that happened to him,” said Easterby.
“He’s moving around OK in the changing room.”
It remains unclear exactly how long Furlong will be out for, while lock Joe McCarthy is another doubt for the Scotland game after suffering a head injury at Ireland training on Wednesday, ruling him out of the England clash.
“I guess there’s a few battered and bruised bodies in there as well, so there’s a few guys we need to check up on, but certainly having those two in the mix will be great,” said Easterby.
“But we’ll take stock of this weekend and we’ll get back together on Monday and find out who is available and who’s not.”
Ireland are up and running in the Easterby era. Scotland are in their sights.
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'The starters laid a strong foundation. We had real impetus off the bench'
IRELAND INTERIM HEAD coach Simon Easterby was pleased with how his entire matchday 23 contributed to their 27-22 bonus-point win over England in their Six Nations opener.
Easterby’s men were wasteful in good positions in the first half and trailed 10-5 at the break but the pressure told in the second 40 minutes as they turned on the power and class to earn their bonus point.
There is plenty to improve upon ahead of next Sunday’s round two visit to Scotland, but Easterby was a happy man after his first game in charge.
“I thought the guys that started laid a strong foundation and it wasn’t easy going, it was tough at times,” said Easterby.
“It was physical, it was what you’d expect from an Ireland-England game.
“The guys that came off the bench benefitted from the work that had been done in the first 50 to 60 minutes. To be fair to the guys who came off the bench, they were brilliant, they really impacted the game, but I do think the guys who started got through a lot of work.
“It was tough going at times, it was attritional, there were a lot of challenges in the air and on the ground and we dealt with most of those, but we benefitted with some real impetus off the bench.”
Returning hooker Dan Sheehan was brilliant in the second half, while Jack Conan also made a big impact off the bench and out-half Jack Crowley was impressive in the final quarter.
Sam Prendergast had been given the nod to start this Six Nations clash and while everything didn’t go his way, he had some superb moments, including the long-range penalty that nudged Ireland ahead for the first time in the game.
Easterby felt both out-halves contributed to the victory.
“I thought Sam was excellent at times, he really created a couple of nice opportunities,” said the Ireland boss.
“We felt like in the autumn that Jack came on and impacted the Australia game and he did the same again and finished the game off well.”
Easterby didn’t appear to be concerned by Ireland’s error-strewn first-half performance, giving England credit for their part in frustrating his team.
“I think the first half, it’s first round of the Six Nations, England here in Dublin, it’s always going to be a bit of an arm-wrestle. It’s nothing we didn’t expect.
“We had to find a way. I thought we played well in patches in the first half, we didn’t quite get our accuracy right, and that’s probably why the scoreline was in their favour.
“We felt at half time if we did a few things better, that we would get the rewards, and we did that.”
The big personnel concern arising from this win was tighthead prop Finlay Bealham, who limped off in the second half with a leg injury. Bealham started in the absence of Tadhg Furlong, who is sidelined with a calf injury, so seeing the Connacht man forced off was a worry.
“We’re still unsure what it was or what it is that happened to him,” said Easterby.
“He’s moving around OK in the changing room.”
It remains unclear exactly how long Furlong will be out for, while lock Joe McCarthy is another doubt for the Scotland game after suffering a head injury at Ireland training on Wednesday, ruling him out of the England clash.
“I guess there’s a few battered and bruised bodies in there as well, so there’s a few guys we need to check up on, but certainly having those two in the mix will be great,” said Easterby.
“But we’ll take stock of this weekend and we’ll get back together on Monday and find out who is available and who’s not.”
Ireland are up and running in the Easterby era. Scotland are in their sights.
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