Joe Schmidt and his coaching staff will be cautious here as, thankfully, Romania are next up.
Saturday was as close to a perfect start that Ireland could expect – seven tries, 50 points and no serious injuries during their win over Canada.
There were niggles, however, and a few busted lungs.
Ireland fullback Rob Kearney was certainly feeling it after his first 80 minutes of the season. During that match, Kearney made 148 metres off 16 carries and scored his first Test try in 18 months.
“I was tired,” Kearney admits.
“I haven’t been that spent now in a long, long time. I don’t know if it was the first proper competitive game back, the roof closed, or the fact there was a huge amount of ball in play.
“I’ve pulled up okay but I was unbelievably tired after the game.”
The 29-year-old was not alone. He commented, “I was asking around the lads after the game hoping they’d say the same so I wasn’t miles off the pace.
“But the general consensus was that the pace was very, very quick.”
Kearney insists he is ready to go again, against Romania, on Sunday but he revealed more on the squad’s current shape than team manager Mick Kearney did at yesterday’s briefing.
“I haven’t seen the full medical report yet,” admitted Kearney, “but there will be a few guys who maybe won’t be fit for this weekend, or might be rested based on a couple of niggles.
“So it’s not like the Six Nations or November when you have an unlimited number of people to choose from.
“So some people will be asked to double up again, and when you’re asked to double up at a World Cup, you’re more than happy.”
France play Romania, first, on Wednesday and made 13 changes for the game from the side that defeated Italy.
Expect similar variations from Ireland.
