Ireland made light work of Fiji in their Autumn Nations Series clash at the Aviva Stadium, with a 52-17 victory.
All eyes were on Sam Prendergast and the young ten could have, and probably should have, seen red for a shoulder to head hit.
Thankfully for him it was just a sin binning, but his game was shaky when he came back into fray. He then showed excellent composure to work his way back into proceedings with some highlight-reel passing throughout.
Ireland were good for their margin of victory but an ill-disciplined Fiji side made it easy for them.
Bundee Aki was the standout performer on the day, although the abrasive showing of debutant Gus McCarthy deserves just as much praise.
Ireland v Fiji player ratings:
Jamie Osborne – 7
Was subbed due to a hip injury after just 27 minutes but made the most of his little time on the pitch. A big doubt for next week.
Mack Hansen – 6.5
Still a long way from his world-class 2023 form and he just isn’t having the impact that we are used to. With two tries, however, he did not deserve too low a score. Will probably start next week with Calvin Nash right to feel aggrieved.
Robbie Henshaw – 7.5
Another strong showing, this time at outside centre. Good decision making in attack and his usual top-quality defending. Gives Andy Farrell a huge selection headache for next week.
Bundee Aki – 8.5
A clash made in heaven for the bruising centre and he was rewarded with a deserved man-of-the-match. Made 77 metres, a mixture of tight carries and line breaks. On the defensive side he was also excellent with one particularly enormous hit in the first-half on Fiji tight head Luke Tagi.
Jacob Stockdale – 7
Looked dangerous whenever he touched the ball, despite taking too much out of it on a couple of occasions. A sad end as he was forced off after 49 minutes, but he was able to walk off which bodes well.
Sam Prendergast – 7
A whirlwind debut. Should have seen red early on for a shoulder to head hit. When he came back he had 15 minutes riddled with sloppy errors. But he bounced back strongly and made acres of space for his teammates with some majestic passing.
Goal kicking was good as well, despite two late misses.
Craig Casey – 8
Continuing his excellent 2024 form, had a number of game-breaking moments and never shirks from contact. Deserves that bench spot for next week.
Caelan Doris – 8
A cut above most players on the planet right now. Had the most metres made, tackles and offloads out of Ireland’s pack.
Josh van der Flier – 7
Subbed off early in the second half with the game won. Continued his strong Autumn Series form.
Cormac Izuchukwu – 6.5
Didn’t do much wrong and looked good in the line out, but certainly did not see as much ball as he would have liked in attack.
Tadhg Beirne – 6.5
Solid performance. Probably saving himself to some extent for next week.
Joe McCarthy – 7
Relished the physicality of the Fijian challenge and should keep his place for next week ahead of James Ryan.
Finlay Bealham – 6.5
Was industrious in defence with seven tackles in his 47 minutes, but little impact other than that.
Gus McCarthy – 7.5
What a debut for a man still in the academy. Had three try assists and bagged one for himself. Extremely fit player with superb support play throughout. Some dodgy line out moments brings his score down half a point.
Andrew Porter – 6.5
Other than one notable carry, he wasn’t particularly impactful, although did not need to be. Subbed early in the second-half ahead of the big Aussie test next week.
Replacements:
Rónan Kelleher – 6
Tom O’Toole – 5.5
Thomas Clarkson – 6.5
Iain Henderson – 6
Cian Prendergast – 6
Conor Murray – 6
Ciarán Frawley – 7
Stuart McCloskey – 6.5
