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'Doesn't look right': Ireland count injury toll after bruising win over Fiji

Jamie Osborne of Ireland leaves the pitch for a head injury assessment during the Autumn Nations Series match between Ireland and Fiji at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Ireland are likely to be without utility back Jamie Osborne for the final Autumn Nations Series match against Australia in seven days times.

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Head coach Andy Farrell has been left counting the cost of their 52-17 victory over Fiji in Dublin as injuries to Osborne and Jacob Stockdale overshadowed what was a commanding display.

While Ireland were very much in the driving seat from the get-go at HQ, there were some ferocious collisions being exchanged with Mick Byrne’s Pacific Nations Cup champions.

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    Osborne exited after just 27 minutes of action, while Stockdale was forced off early in the second half due to a tight hamstring, leaving head coach Andy Farrell sweating on their fitness ahead of next weekend’s autumn finale against Australia.

    “Jamie is an abductor… so that doesn’t look right,” Farrell told the post-match press conference. Depending on its severity, Osborne could be out of action for three to six weeks, which will affect his availability for Leinster as they head in the opening rounds of the Champions Cup.

    There was also bad news for Stockdale, who was making his return to the Ireland match-day squad for the first time since a Rugby World Cup warm-up game against Italy last year.

    “He pulled up sharp there,” said Farrell of Stockdale’s withdrawal after 49 minutes. “It’s the hamstring. I was gutted for him.”

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    Ireland delivered a much-improved performance after an unconvincing start to the series. Gus McCarthy celebrated a dream debut with a try, while Mack Hansen scored twice in a match where seven players crossed the whitewash for the hosts.

    The Pacific Islanders, who had Caleb Muntz adding seven points, offered resistance with tries from Kitione Salawa and Setareki Turagacoke but were ultimately outclassed.

    Ireland now face an anxious wait on medical updates as they prepare to close out their autumn campaign against Joe Schmidt’s in-form Wallabies.

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    1 Comment
    a
    aO 241 days ago

    A good humoured game, good reffing. Big guys in Figi maybe a bit off the mark re playing in Northern Hemisphere. Good discipline for Ireland coming back to form. Doris is such a good captain and is everywhere on the field. New lads did well.

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    IkeaBoy 45 minutes ago
    Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

    Very, very thoughtful piece!


    It’s far too much rugby for players as it stands and the new competitions - club world cup and Nations cup - are proposed on the basis it’s the best players competing who will usually be established test players.


    An established NH test player is in pre-season from August (at the latest) then going thorough until the following July. They likely will have carried niggles and some injuries into their pre-season. They would then have between 22-30 domestic games if their teams went far and contested finals in say the URC and CC. Although many would have stand down periods, they would still train and be squad ready for all of those games.


    Their test commitments across that same time would be 3/4 games (Nov series) then 5 games (6 Nations) with a rest for the July development tours. That rest would only now be once every 4 years with the Lions, Nations Cup and RWC warm-ups occupying the July window.


    A squad player at club level would potentially have a full run of games in any given season but run a greater risk of injury the more often they play. They would likely know that form alone wouldn’t get them to the next level and into a national squad. It would be their bodies and their ability to recover quickly and deal with elite level competition. They wouldn’t have the baseline of having played an 11 month season so how could they upsurge a 40 cap player?


    I think there will be a huge divide before long between solid club players, who are basically salary men, and the ringfenced test animals who will likely dwindle in numbers as their playing demands increase.

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