IT’S WOE FOR JOE’S SECOND STRING

Ireland struggle past Fiji as Carbery injury sums up dour night in Dublin

A CELEBRATORY roar from the stands of a sold-out Aviva Stadium greeted the final whistle, but the joy was misplaced.

The sobering reality is that Joe Schmidt’s gamble in making 13 alterations following last weekend’s comprehensive dismissal of South Africa backfired to such an extent that this shadow selection could well have been beaten.

Not since Samoa caused an upset in 1996 had Ireland been so vulnerable to a second tier nation, but they lost their way here. The solid foundation of a 17-3 first-half advantage was squandered through wobbles either side of the break that tied up the score.

It left the struggling hosts dependent on two late penalties from substitute Ian Keatley to nudge them safely to victory.

A nervous close shave, exacerbated by a scoreless 32-minute drought, a flurry of attack-ruining penalties for non-release at the breakdown and a rash decision to kick for the corner instead of at the posts when level at 17-all, hadn’t been in the script.

The pattern for previous occasions when Schmidt rolled the midseries November dice was that he had handsomely came up trumps, eight tries scored in last year’s 5221 blitz of Canada and six witnessed in the 49-7 dismissal of Georgia in 2014.

But this performance left much to be desired. Skipper Rhys Ruddock had insisted that Ireland were primed to deliver, claiming their preparations had been as pitch perfect as in the lead-up to the trouncing of the Springboks.

In the same breath, though, he warned how they needed to avoid a repeat of the early second-half slumber that calmed their initial dominance of that contest.

This caution went unheeded, his team sucked into an unedifying scrap that could have gone either way. The video review won’t be pleasant viewing at Carton House.

What didn’t help was the serious treatment Joey Carbery, Ireland’s star of tomorrow, came in for. Heavy hits knocked him out of his early stride, and eventually the game with a suspected fractured arm, leaving Keatley to rescue the situation.

Another issue was tough adjudication from the referee. There was little traction at the scrum, ‘play ball’ the frequent instruction when the front rows went down. The maul, too, was also given a hurryup by the ref and the penalty count, an area where the usually naughty Fiji get into trouble, only finished at 8-9 against the visitors. That was quite the leveller, as was the number of tackles Ireland slipped off, their percentage rate falling to around 78 percent.

Previous Test encounters with Fiji had always been a stroll, 36, 47 and 32 points the margin, not to mention the eight tries scored in the unanswered 53-point rout five years ago, and Ireland’s decent opening had them set up for another runaway success.

Seven minutes was all they needed to strike first, Carbery stepping inside loosehead Campese Ma’afu with a verve and panache made all the more impressive by the left-to-right pass into Darren Sweetnam. It left the winger, making his first start, with an easy run in.

A lull in Irish play followed, culminating in Fiji’s Ben Volavola stroking over a 21-minute kick after Kieran Marmion’s botched box-kick clearance tempted teammates offside.

This concession was a positive, though, sparking Ireland into retribution. A scrum outside the 22 was the perfect position to work a score, the sweep commenced by Stuart McCloskey charging up the middle and it later featured the centre again, his lovely timing teeing-up Andrew Conway to usher Dave Kearney in for a try in his first appearance since February 2016.

A Conway flap in the air was enough to rule out a second try for Kearney. However, poor Fijian handling – one loose pass off a 10-metre scrum followed by another that fell to the floor – allowed Jack Conan pounce and Carbery, who finished one from three off the kicking tee, nailed the conversion for a 17-3 lead that was a fair reflection.

What was unfair, though, was its interval complexion. Ireland switched off near the opposition 22 and the lost possession was taken all the way under their posts. Nemani Nadolo’s lovely kick ahead enabled him to breeze by Sweetnam, beat Conway and then give the assist to Henry Seniloli for the converted score which suddenly left only seven points between the teams at the break.

Ireland were under their posts a second time shortly after the resumption, Kearney’s pass to debutant Chris Farrell picked off by Timoci Nagusa, his converted try levelling matters up.

Anxiety severely stunted Ireland’s play and only Keatley’s relieving accuracy with the boot saved them on a disappointing evening in Dublin.