THERE WILL BE bumps and bruises aplenty for Ireland tomorrow.
Jake White’s Fiji came to Dublin to play, and they engaged in some highly physical resistance to Ireland’s bid to shake them off.
Andy Farrell’s men ended up with a seven-tryperformance that earned them a second successive bonus-point win in the Nations Championship, yet it wasn’t a game without its hiccups.
The first half was particularly frustrating for Ireland as they played their part in Fiji staying in the contest, but the Irish effort in the second half was much more convincing as they kept the Flying Fijians scoreless after the interval.
Irish wing duo Rob Baloucoune and Tommy O’Brien bagged a brace of tries each, number eight Nick Timoney scored late on, while hooker Rónan Kelleher and loosehead prop Andrew Porter also dotted down on what was a good day for the Irish front row.
Farrell will have enjoyed the Irish scrum winning four penalties ahead of next weekend’s showdown with the Springboks, but the Ireland boss will know all too well that his team will need to go up another few gears against the number one team in the world.
Ireland’s play had a sloppy edge too often in the first half, particularly in their struggles to exit from their own 22, while they missed a few more chances to add to a still respectable seven-try haul.
Irish fans enjoy the Mexican wave. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
Even with Farrell picking a strong side for this game, the overriding impression was that none of his players reached similar heights to what they delivered against Argentina last time out. There were moments of brilliance, no doubt, but virtually everyone had moments they’d have liked to try again.
Ulster’s 23-year-old back row James McNabney provided one of the highlights of the game with a huge surge in midfield just after coming on in the second half, but a nasty head injury in a reckless challenge from Fiji’s Inoke Ravuiwasa meant his Ireland debut lasted just three minutes.
Stuart McCloskey, who was sprung from the bench as early as the fourth minute when Jamie Osborne was forced off with what appeared to be a shoulder injury, carried relentlessly for Ireland, while fullback Mack Hansen was heavily involved too.
Blindside flanker Ryan Baird was named player of the match after a busy defensive performance that saw him make 12 tackles.
Irish halfbacks Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast provided their usual attacking spark, even though there were times when they lost control of proceedings.
White’s Fiji will have been happy with their first-half effort, but they had no answer to Ireland’s clinical second-half surge.
Now it’s onto the big one for Ireland as the Springboks land in Dublin ahead of next weekend.
Tommy O'Brien bagged a brace for Ireland. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland had a two-point lead after a first half that promised much more than that.
Farrell’s side needed Andrew Porter to be alert early on as he won a breakdown turnover near his own tryline and then a five-metre scrum to get them out of trouble in the opening minutes.
Ireland were soon in full flow down the other end as they struck clinically from a right-hand-side lineout, Prendergast sweeping the ball out the back to Baloucoune, whose diagonal run drew in the second-last defender, so Hansen could free O’Brien to score out on the left.
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But Ireland followed that snappy start with a series of near misses in the Fiji 22. Prendergast nearly found Baloucoune with a cross-field kick to the right but the ball just wouldn’t sit up.
A few minutes later, Gibson-Park’s pass wide to Hansen in the left corner looked set to send him over, only for Fiji wing Selestino Ravutaumada to knock-on in what was adjudged to be a genuine intercept attempt.
It appeared that Gibson-Park had scored with a powerful dart from the resulting five-metre scrum, only for TMO Mike Adamson to show that the Ireland scrum-half had knocked-on over the line.
Having failed to create some breathing room on the scoreboard, Ireland started to produce errors as their backline defence was offside at a lineout, then Baloucoune spilt the ball.
Fiji's Peceli Yato scores in the first half. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
They had invited Fiji into their territory and White’s men took their chance. They made big maul progress off a lineout through skipper Peceli Yato, then explosive centre Josua Tuisova ran through Prendergast’s tackle attempt to score from close range.
Ireland came up with another sloppy penalty soon after as Hansen knocked the ball on and James Ryan collected it in an offside position.
It seemed that Fiji had missed their chance as they knocked on in the 22, but Prendergast ran the turnover out of his 22, only to spill the ball after being tackled. Fiji wing Jiuta Wainiqolo scooped it up, danced past Hansen and Tadhg Furlong, then offloaded beautifully for Yato to score.
The Fijian captain was injured in the process of scoring but Fiji led 12-7 with 23 minutes played.
Ireland nearly had their reply through number eight Nick Timoney but his effort was ruled to be held up upon TMO review, but Farrell’s men were level on the half-hour mark.
Their second try stemmed from Ben Volavola dropping a towering Prendergast kick into the 22, with Ireland gobbling up the scraps. Their ball-carrying earned penalty advantage and Prendergast fired a nice bridge pass out for Baloucoune’s first try.
Ryan Baird carries for Ireland. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Prendergast pulled his conversion attempt wide to the left so it was 12-12, yet Ireland still couldn’t fully settle. They tried to run the ensuing restart out of their 22 but got turned over and the next bout of Fijian pressure almost ended with a try for prop Luke Tagi. Another TMO review showed a knock-on from the visitors in the lineout just before.
Ireland were relieved, but then they missed another close-range chance as Bundee Aki was pinged for obstruction in a maul metres from the Fiji line.
They did pull in front in the 39th minute, however, as hooker Rónan Kelleher claimed a Fijian overthrow on the visitors’ 22 and surged forward. Aki was among the powerful ball-carriers who ensured another penalty advantage, allowing Prendergast and McCloskey to put Baloucoune away for his second try.
This time, Prendergast’s conversion attempt struck to the post and then Ireland failed to get out of their 22 after the restart, with Ravutaumada winning the ball in a contest with Timoney.
With the clock in the red, Ireland captain Beirne failed to roll away from a tackle and with referee Angus Gardner having already warned them about penalties around their 22, he reached for his yellow card.
Gardner erred in initially sin-binning James Ryan, who had jackled over the tackle, but after Volavola kicked three points for 17-15, the Australian official let Beirne know he’d be spending the opening minutes of the second half on the sideline.
Baloucoune scores his second try. Tom Maher / INPHO
Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO
Ireland turned to the set-piece early in the second half as they looked to finally create some separation, even with Beirne still in the bin.
A scrum penalty win by Furlong – following two on Porter’s side in the first half – resulted in Ireland kicking to touch down the left and a strong maul platform ensured space in the shortside that Kelleher darted into with Gibson-Park. The hooker had the power to finish, dummying a pass and breaking Fiji scrum-half Frank Lomani’s tackle.
Prendergast was wide with his shot at goal from close to the left touchline, but Ireland had their bonus-point try.
The Ireland out-half found himself under intense pressure down the other end soon after, with opposite number Volavola blocking his kick down and chasing hard after the ricochet. He was relieved to see O’Brien win the race, but the Ireland wing was driven over his own tryline.
That meant Ireland needed to front up defensively. They did. A big set featured a particularly good tackle by Gibson-Park on Fiji fullback Ponepati Loganimasi, with Tagi then knocking on.
Ireland soon broke clear of their own 22, first through the lively Gibson-Park and then through debutant McNabney, who thundered through the heart of the Fijian defence in thrilling fashion.
McNabney went close to scoring a couple of phases later with another potent surge, but he had the misfortune to take a big blow to the head.
James McNabney made a brief, brilliant impact. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
McNabney’s debut was over after just three minutes, with Fiji replacement tighthead prop Inoke Ravuiwasa shown a yellow card for a reckless swing of his left arm to McNabney’s head as he strode for the line.
When play resumed with an Irish penalty, the Irish forwards went to work from a five-metre tap penalty, Porter sealing the deal with a short-range finish.
Fiji kept trying to find a way back into the contest, but a breakdown turnover penalty win by O’Brien in the Irish 22 ended their next assault.
And down the other end, O’Brien got his reward with Ireland’s sixth try, with the left wing chasing a delicate grubber kick in behind by Prendergast, who nailed the conversion from out wide.
Another scrum penalty for Ireland under their own posts in the 64th minute was pleasing, particularly as it was earned by the replacement front row of Tom O’Toole, Tom Stewart and Sam Illo.
But Ireland’s discipline began to slip again in the following minutes as one of the longest-ever Mexican Waves swept around the stands. Down on the pitch, Fiji battered away in the Irish 22, but Ireland held them out.
Timoney, who had returned to play when McNabney was injured, finished the Irish try-scoring with a typically powerful effort and Ciarán Frawley, on for Prendergast, added the extras.
Ireland scorers:
Tries: Tommy O’Brien [2], Robert Baloucoune [2], Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Nick Timoney
Conversions: Sam Prendergast [3 from 6], Ciarán Frawley [1 from 1]
Fiji scorers:
Tries: Josua Tuisova, Peceli Yato
Conversions: Ben Volavola [1 from 2]
Penalties: Ben Volavola [1 from 1]
IRELAND: Mack Hansen; Robert Baloucoune, Jamie Osborne (Stuart McCloskey ’4), Bundee Aki, Tommy O’Brien; Sam Prendergast (Ciarán Frawley ’60) , Jamison Gibson-Park (Craig Casey ’56); Andrew Porter (Tom O’Toole ’60), Rónan Kelleher (Tom Stewart ’60), Tadhg Furlong (Sam Illo ’50, reversal ’73); James Ryan (Darragh Murray ’56), Tadhg Beirne (captain) (yellow card ’42); Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Nick Timoney (James McNabney ’50, reversal ’53).
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Baloucoune and O'Brien on the double as Ireland see off Fiji
Ireland 43
Fiji 15
THERE WILL BE bumps and bruises aplenty for Ireland tomorrow.
Jake White’s Fiji came to Dublin to play, and they engaged in some highly physical resistance to Ireland’s bid to shake them off.
Andy Farrell’s men ended up with a seven-try performance that earned them a second successive bonus-point win in the Nations Championship, yet it wasn’t a game without its hiccups.
The first half was particularly frustrating for Ireland as they played their part in Fiji staying in the contest, but the Irish effort in the second half was much more convincing as they kept the Flying Fijians scoreless after the interval.
Irish wing duo Rob Baloucoune and Tommy O’Brien bagged a brace of tries each, number eight Nick Timoney scored late on, while hooker Rónan Kelleher and loosehead prop Andrew Porter also dotted down on what was a good day for the Irish front row.
Farrell will have enjoyed the Irish scrum winning four penalties ahead of next weekend’s showdown with the Springboks, but the Ireland boss will know all too well that his team will need to go up another few gears against the number one team in the world.
Ireland’s play had a sloppy edge too often in the first half, particularly in their struggles to exit from their own 22, while they missed a few more chances to add to a still respectable seven-try haul.
Even with Farrell picking a strong side for this game, the overriding impression was that none of his players reached similar heights to what they delivered against Argentina last time out. There were moments of brilliance, no doubt, but virtually everyone had moments they’d have liked to try again.
Ulster’s 23-year-old back row James McNabney provided one of the highlights of the game with a huge surge in midfield just after coming on in the second half, but a nasty head injury in a reckless challenge from Fiji’s Inoke Ravuiwasa meant his Ireland debut lasted just three minutes.
Stuart McCloskey, who was sprung from the bench as early as the fourth minute when Jamie Osborne was forced off with what appeared to be a shoulder injury, carried relentlessly for Ireland, while fullback Mack Hansen was heavily involved too.
Blindside flanker Ryan Baird was named player of the match after a busy defensive performance that saw him make 12 tackles.
Irish halfbacks Jamison Gibson-Park and Sam Prendergast provided their usual attacking spark, even though there were times when they lost control of proceedings.
White’s Fiji will have been happy with their first-half effort, but they had no answer to Ireland’s clinical second-half surge.
Now it’s onto the big one for Ireland as the Springboks land in Dublin ahead of next weekend.
Ireland had a two-point lead after a first half that promised much more than that.
Farrell’s side needed Andrew Porter to be alert early on as he won a breakdown turnover near his own tryline and then a five-metre scrum to get them out of trouble in the opening minutes.
Ireland were soon in full flow down the other end as they struck clinically from a right-hand-side lineout, Prendergast sweeping the ball out the back to Baloucoune, whose diagonal run drew in the second-last defender, so Hansen could free O’Brien to score out on the left.
But Ireland followed that snappy start with a series of near misses in the Fiji 22. Prendergast nearly found Baloucoune with a cross-field kick to the right but the ball just wouldn’t sit up.
A few minutes later, Gibson-Park’s pass wide to Hansen in the left corner looked set to send him over, only for Fiji wing Selestino Ravutaumada to knock-on in what was adjudged to be a genuine intercept attempt.
It appeared that Gibson-Park had scored with a powerful dart from the resulting five-metre scrum, only for TMO Mike Adamson to show that the Ireland scrum-half had knocked-on over the line.
Having failed to create some breathing room on the scoreboard, Ireland started to produce errors as their backline defence was offside at a lineout, then Baloucoune spilt the ball.
They had invited Fiji into their territory and White’s men took their chance. They made big maul progress off a lineout through skipper Peceli Yato, then explosive centre Josua Tuisova ran through Prendergast’s tackle attempt to score from close range.
Ireland came up with another sloppy penalty soon after as Hansen knocked the ball on and James Ryan collected it in an offside position.
It seemed that Fiji had missed their chance as they knocked on in the 22, but Prendergast ran the turnover out of his 22, only to spill the ball after being tackled. Fiji wing Jiuta Wainiqolo scooped it up, danced past Hansen and Tadhg Furlong, then offloaded beautifully for Yato to score.
The Fijian captain was injured in the process of scoring but Fiji led 12-7 with 23 minutes played.
Ireland nearly had their reply through number eight Nick Timoney but his effort was ruled to be held up upon TMO review, but Farrell’s men were level on the half-hour mark.
Their second try stemmed from Ben Volavola dropping a towering Prendergast kick into the 22, with Ireland gobbling up the scraps. Their ball-carrying earned penalty advantage and Prendergast fired a nice bridge pass out for Baloucoune’s first try.
Prendergast pulled his conversion attempt wide to the left so it was 12-12, yet Ireland still couldn’t fully settle. They tried to run the ensuing restart out of their 22 but got turned over and the next bout of Fijian pressure almost ended with a try for prop Luke Tagi. Another TMO review showed a knock-on from the visitors in the lineout just before.
Ireland were relieved, but then they missed another close-range chance as Bundee Aki was pinged for obstruction in a maul metres from the Fiji line.
They did pull in front in the 39th minute, however, as hooker Rónan Kelleher claimed a Fijian overthrow on the visitors’ 22 and surged forward. Aki was among the powerful ball-carriers who ensured another penalty advantage, allowing Prendergast and McCloskey to put Baloucoune away for his second try.
This time, Prendergast’s conversion attempt struck to the post and then Ireland failed to get out of their 22 after the restart, with Ravutaumada winning the ball in a contest with Timoney.
With the clock in the red, Ireland captain Beirne failed to roll away from a tackle and with referee Angus Gardner having already warned them about penalties around their 22, he reached for his yellow card.
Gardner erred in initially sin-binning James Ryan, who had jackled over the tackle, but after Volavola kicked three points for 17-15, the Australian official let Beirne know he’d be spending the opening minutes of the second half on the sideline.
Ireland turned to the set-piece early in the second half as they looked to finally create some separation, even with Beirne still in the bin.
A scrum penalty win by Furlong – following two on Porter’s side in the first half – resulted in Ireland kicking to touch down the left and a strong maul platform ensured space in the shortside that Kelleher darted into with Gibson-Park. The hooker had the power to finish, dummying a pass and breaking Fiji scrum-half Frank Lomani’s tackle.
Prendergast was wide with his shot at goal from close to the left touchline, but Ireland had their bonus-point try.
The Ireland out-half found himself under intense pressure down the other end soon after, with opposite number Volavola blocking his kick down and chasing hard after the ricochet. He was relieved to see O’Brien win the race, but the Ireland wing was driven over his own tryline.
That meant Ireland needed to front up defensively. They did. A big set featured a particularly good tackle by Gibson-Park on Fiji fullback Ponepati Loganimasi, with Tagi then knocking on.
Ireland soon broke clear of their own 22, first through the lively Gibson-Park and then through debutant McNabney, who thundered through the heart of the Fijian defence in thrilling fashion.
McNabney went close to scoring a couple of phases later with another potent surge, but he had the misfortune to take a big blow to the head.
McNabney’s debut was over after just three minutes, with Fiji replacement tighthead prop Inoke Ravuiwasa shown a yellow card for a reckless swing of his left arm to McNabney’s head as he strode for the line.
When play resumed with an Irish penalty, the Irish forwards went to work from a five-metre tap penalty, Porter sealing the deal with a short-range finish.
Fiji kept trying to find a way back into the contest, but a breakdown turnover penalty win by O’Brien in the Irish 22 ended their next assault.
And down the other end, O’Brien got his reward with Ireland’s sixth try, with the left wing chasing a delicate grubber kick in behind by Prendergast, who nailed the conversion from out wide.
Another scrum penalty for Ireland under their own posts in the 64th minute was pleasing, particularly as it was earned by the replacement front row of Tom O’Toole, Tom Stewart and Sam Illo.
But Ireland’s discipline began to slip again in the following minutes as one of the longest-ever Mexican Waves swept around the stands. Down on the pitch, Fiji battered away in the Irish 22, but Ireland held them out.
Timoney, who had returned to play when McNabney was injured, finished the Irish try-scoring with a typically powerful effort and Ciarán Frawley, on for Prendergast, added the extras.
Ireland scorers:
Tries: Tommy O’Brien [2], Robert Baloucoune [2], Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Nick Timoney
Conversions: Sam Prendergast [3 from 6], Ciarán Frawley [1 from 1]
Fiji scorers:
Tries: Josua Tuisova, Peceli Yato
Conversions: Ben Volavola [1 from 2]
Penalties: Ben Volavola [1 from 1]
IRELAND: Mack Hansen; Robert Baloucoune, Jamie Osborne (Stuart McCloskey ’4), Bundee Aki, Tommy O’Brien; Sam Prendergast (Ciarán Frawley ’60) , Jamison Gibson-Park (Craig Casey ’56); Andrew Porter (Tom O’Toole ’60), Rónan Kelleher (Tom Stewart ’60), Tadhg Furlong (Sam Illo ’50, reversal ’73); James Ryan (Darragh Murray ’56), Tadhg Beirne (captain) (yellow card ’42); Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Nick Timoney (James McNabney ’50, reversal ’53).
FIJI: Ponepati Loganimasi; Selestino Ravutaumada (Iosefo Masi ’53), Setareki Bituniyata, Josua Tuisova, Jiuta Wainiqolo; Ben Volavola (Caleb Muntz ’73) , Frank Lomani (Terio Tamani ’73); Peni Ravai (Vilikesa Nairau ’53), Tevita Ikanivere (Zuriel Togiatama ‘), Luke Tagi (Inoke Ravuiwasa ’53 (yellow card ’54); Joseva Tamani, Isoa Nasilasila; Mesake Vocevoce, Lekima Tagitagivalu (Elia Canakaivata ’53 (Luke Tagi ’56 to ’64), Peceli Yato (captain) (Kitione Salawa ’26).
Referee: Angus Gardner [RA].
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Aviva Stadium BP win Fiji Ireland Nations Championship