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Andy Farrell issues update on 3 injured Ireland players
By Ian Cameron
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has issued an injury update on James Lowe, Mack Hansen and James Ryan following his side’s heavy defeat of Scotland in the final game of Pool B at the Rugby World Cup.
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Ireland came away with a 36-14 win, but now have to count the injury toll of what was a feisty contest at the Stade de France.
Lowe didn’t return for the second half following a nasty eye injury, while Hansen didn’t return from a HIA. Ryan looked to have aggravated a niggly wrist injury that saw him start on the bench.
“Mack went off with a HIA and felt his calf straight away, so we got him off,” said Farrell. “James Ryan has a knock on his wrist, which we have to assess.
“Lowe got a bang in the eye and couldn’t see much, but his vision came back towards the end of the game, which was good.”
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend lauded the Irish performance, which was far more comfortable than the final scoreboard might have suggested.
“They were very clinical, very accurate, and I thought they put in a huge shift defensively when they had a bit of pressure in that first 20 minutes. They’re an outstanding team and they showed that tonight.
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“Yes, we had a bit of pressure. And Ireland held us out and credit to them – when you play the top teams, you’ve got to take your opportunities. We didn’t do that in the first quarter, and that was probably our best period in the game. And when the game was lost, we did come back into it. We’ve got to make sure we put points on the board and Ireland certainly did that tonight.
“No, I’m proud of the effort in that second half. The game had gone away from us in the first half so we focused on winning back respect and the players’ effort in the second was a mark of who they are, to score two tries. We’ll take a little bit of out of that but we’re very disappointed with the result and the first-half performance but a lot of the credit goes to Ireland – they were very, very good.”
I hope they are back, fully fit and in fighting form for the QFs against the ABs.