5 things we learned

Sweet for Darren

Full-back Andrew Conway was awarded Man of the Match, his gutsy defiance one of the few consistencies about Ireland’s display. However the effort of winger Darren Sweetnam in his first start was confirmation that GAA’s loss is rugby’s gain, the former Cork hurler looked the part with a try-scoring effort.

Farrell unconvincing

Debut-making centre Chris Farrell was the 48th new player capped on Joe Schmidt’s 49-game watch and the 31st new face to audition in 22 games since World Cup elimination to Argentina. However, unlike last week’s acclaim for Bundee Aki who set the tone against the Boks, the jury is out on Farrell.

Carbery concerns

Joey Carbery is a fine player with great ambitions to become one of the world’s greats. However, while some poor place kicking didn’t stop his fellow New Zealander Beauden Barrett from fulfilling his talent, Carbery’s inaccuracy off the tee is a concern and two missed conversions a reason Fiji got so close to an upset.

Defensive issues

Ireland’s defence inside their 22 is frequently on point but where it lets itself down, as happened away to Scotland and Wales in the 2017 Six Nations, is from positions further out. Fiji’s two tries came from a side-to-side counter from their own 22 and a halfway intercept that shouldn’t have materialised.

McHugh thanked

Test matchday is a day to bury bad news. At 1.23pm, an IRFU email thanked Dave McHugh for his contribution to Irish and world refereeing. The 20-year IRFU employee had become referee performance manager in 2015 and his case for unlawful dismissal ended on the High Court steps on November 7.