COST OF AVIVA WIN

tightened over the warmup,” he said. “We’re hopeful he’ll be OK – but we have to just wait and see.”

It was a largely disjointed contest ahead of Saturday’s monumental clash with the All Blacks. Ireland captain Rory Best (left) said: “We’ll be better for tonight. We always look to improve and get better. There were areas we were very happy with and areas we need to work on.”

Looking ahead to the All Blacks, who beat England 16-15 at Twickenham, Schmidt said: “They are comfortable in their own skin and we all know they’re a heck of a team.”