EAR INJURY MAY RULE OUT O’MAHONY
PETER O’MAHONY is a doubt for Ireland’s Aviva Stadium clash with Fiji on Saturday as he nurses an ear injury that required stitches after last weekend’s hammering of South Africa. Even if the Munster captain is declared fit, he may be rested for the second of the November internationals, as competition for a spot in the back row is intensifying with flankers Jordi Murphy and Sean Reidy both drafted into the squad. The pair have joined Joe Schmidt’s squad at their Carton House base following injuries to Tommy O’Donnell and Dan Leavy. The head coach is likely to shuffle his pack against a nation that has traditionally failed to lay a finger on Ireland. Prop John Ryan is definitely out of the clash, joining hamstrung Keith Earls by returning to Munster for treatment on a calf injury following his 10-minute cameo against the Boks. A number of minor knocks were reported among the remainder of the match day 23, but all are expected to train this week. The IRFU have also confirmed that the match against Fiji is a sell-out, for what is expected to be a second November series win for Schmidt’s side. In three previous meetings with the Pacific Islanders, Ireland have romped home 44-8 (1995), 64-17 (2002) and 41-6 (2009). Fiji arrive in Dublin on the back of a 19-10 defeat to Italy, who handed a first cap to residency-qualified Ian McKinley, marking the latest milestone in the former Leinster player’s incredible recovery from an injury that left him blind in his left eye seven years ago. McKinley’s former Leinster and UCD team-mate Rob Kearney yesterday admitted it was inspiring to see the 27-year-old on the international stage. ‘It was a very heartrending story and a huge amount of people were touched by it,’ he said. ‘To see him come on and kick a penalty was obviously massive for him but a huge amount of people had a soft spot for the story and it was really nice to see. ‘And he is a really great guy, it was great to see the amount of resilience and commitment over the years and you can really only admire him for that.’