Shropshire Star

Ian Keatley’s two late penalties see Ireland to narrow win over Fiji

Ireland were given a scare by the Fijians who pushed the home side all the way

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Ian Keatley’s two late penalties dug Ireland out of a hole as Joe Schmidt’s experimental side edged out Fiji 23-20 in Dublin.

Schmidt’s men squandered a 17-3 lead built up by tries from Darren Sweetnam, Dave Kearney and Jack Conan, and almost paid the price for young fly-half Joey Carbery’s two missed conversions.

Ireland made 13 changes from last weekend’s record 38-3 victory over South Africa, and endured some nervy moments en route to their slender win over the eye-catching Pacific Islanders. Henry Seniloli and Timoci Nagusa claimed tries for Fiji, with Ben Volavola slotting 10 points from the tee.

What they said

Tweet of the match

“Brilliant, Keats! Replacement Ian Keatley lands two vital penalties to move Ireland 23-20 ahead of Fiji. ☘☘☘” – Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) breathes a sigh of relief as Ireland squeaked to victory.

Moment of the match

Darren Sweetnam scored after great work by Joey Carbery
Darren Sweetnam scored after great work by Joey Carbery (Brian Lawless/PA)

Joey Carbery’s dancing feet for the opening Irish try. Carbery, who later went off injured, stepped inside a closing forward before a shimmy and burst of pace took him away from two Fijian midfielders and his perfect pass then found Darren Sweetnam on the outside with the simple task of crossing the line for the score.

Star man – Andrew Conway

After a star performance in the stunning victory over South Africa last week, the Munster full-back again turned in a powerful performance. Always eager to come into the line, his running caused problems for the Fiji defence and gave Ireland a platform to attack from.

Irish sloppiness

Ireland will have some work to do on the training ground this week. There were too many turnovers and loose play at the breakdown that allowed Fiji to get closer than they should have.

Take nothing away from Fiji, they let Ireland know they were in a battle but Joe Schmidt will not be happy at the amount of turnovers his team conceded.

Player ratings

Who’s up next?

Ireland met Argentina in the 2015 World Cup with Argentina winning the quarter-final 43-20
Ireland met Argentina in the 2015 World Cup with Argentina winning the quarter-final 43-20 (Mike Egerton/PA)

Ireland v Argentina (November 25, Dublin)

Fiji v Canada (November 24, Narbonne)

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