Only nine more Tests remain between now and the World Cup, and that includes Ireland’s three warm-up matches. So, with Australia next Saturday night and the Six Nations to follow, an opportunity like this laboured win to explore the depth of the Irish squad may not occur again.
Viewed in that light, and in tandem with the disappointing Ireland ‘A’ performance against a strong All Blacks XV, the evidence would suggest that while opportunity knocked, Ireland’s depth is worryingly not as strong as hoped.
But Andy Farrell maintained he was not concerned.
“I’m not worried, it is what it is. You know what you know in that regard. There’s a lot of big characters who were not in the changing-room. I’m big on how you make people feel or how certain people make people feel and we’d a different leadership going on this week in all sorts of areas. It’s something we need to get to the bottom of and keep progressing with.
“Sometimes you get a performance and it leads you into a false dawn. It’s good, especially off the back of a win to get into the bones of it, to dig down deep and see what the reality is.”
What disappointed the Irish head coach most, aside from errors in execution and the concession of avoidable penalties in a 14-10 penalty count to Ireland, was the team’s start. There had been a prevailing lack of respect toward the Flying Fijians, witness a 27-point handicap that looked excessive and the close shave five years previously. This perhaps even infiltrated the team.
“The start was poor. Our spirit at the start was a bit off and that’s not like us, because we have been starting very well of late,” said Farrell.
The Fijians’ first try, superbly executed, was helped by the lack of urgency and organisation in the Irish defence, which became too bunched. Of the 13 players on their feet in the defensive line, the penultimate defender, Robbie Henshaw, was stationed on the kick-off spot. Only Robert Baloucoune was in the right-hand half of the pitch as two passes took out all bar Henshaw and Baloucoune before Vinaya Habosi was released up the touchline past the covering Jamison Gibson-Park for the supporting Waisea Nayacalevu to give Kalaveti Ravouvou an easy run-in.
Despite asserting themselves, mostly through their excellent line-out, maul and power plays, for two tries by Nick Timoney and a well-worked score off turnover ball for Baloucoune, this rather set the tone for the Irish performance.
“The opportunities we had in the ‘22 and not coming away with more points; not putting the game to bed early was not like us,” said Farrell.
“In reality, because of that and how dangerous they all are, how dangerous we all knew how dangerous they were going to be and they didn’t disappoint. The game was always in the balance, wasn’t it? For a long period. That was through our doing.”
Ireland could only translate over eight minutes in the opposition 22 into five tries, losing their way between the 25th and the hour mark when failing to score a point. In the last 35 minutes against 14 men, and ten of those were against 13, Ireland only outscored Fiji by 14-7.
Levani Botia brilliantly denied Kieran Treadwell a try, Jack Conan was tackled into touch and Mack Hansen, although Ireland’s most dangerous player, knocked on twice and wastefully overcooked a cross-kick for Jimmy O’Brien against 13 men; there was an early shove against a six-man pack, another drive was held up for a turnover and Timoney’s fine break off Jack Crowley’s pass was undone by a high pass to Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringose’s offload to Baloucoune was forward and so on.
Although Fiji’s array of marginally timed hits and ill-discipline might have led to further sanctions in addition to two yellows and a red in conceding 14 penalties, they again proved what a spirited, improving and dangerous side they can be even when numerically disadvantaged. Then again they get plenty of practice at that.
There were some positives. The dynamic Timoney had a strong all-round game. Tadhg Beirne had plenty of good involvements. Treadwell backed up the hard-carrying games of Stuart McCloskey and the back-row by making ten strong carries for 54 metres, besting four defenders, in his 66 minutes on the pitch.
Jimmy O’Brien, although not brought into the game enough, again looked the part, not least in hauling down some mighty Fijians on the charge. There were debuts for Jeremy Loughman, Ciaran Prendergast and Jack Crowley, who along with Max Deegan, again impressed off the bench as in the ‘A’ game, even if impact replacement roles were probably more favourable roles in both games.
Crowley’s body language belied his nerves.
“Even last week I was asking myself what I was doing here running the tee to Johnny and experiencing the whole thing,” Crowley admitted. It was mind-blowing and I didn’t think in a million years I was going to be there and I was really delighted to be given another week in camp. I didn’t know how they operate on Test week and it was probably a pinch-me moment.”
“I didn’t expect to be on that long. To see Joey coming off, you don’t want to see that no matter who it is,” Crowley added genuinely in reference to his Munster teammate. “Joey has been so good to me, back in Munster and up here as well, a proper mentor. To see him go off with that is something that I don’t like to see. Fortunate that I got on but unfortunate in those circumstances that Joey had to come off.”
