#ireland-rugby

#ireland-rugby

"I had to beat traffic to get out to the High Performance Centre and I had a long work call between 8am and 11am," Johnny Sexton recalls. "The lads were then coming out to training and I was sitting there in the car with my shirt on. Call over, I'd have to take it off, put my gear on, jump out, train with the lads, do the kicking session, back into the car and off to work again for the rest of the day."

But Andy Farrell is a slick operator and would have circled this date in red on his calendar long before Erasmus and his gang touched down at Dublin Airport. He'll no doubt have a few tricks up his sleeve. Ireland, though, have not managed to kick on in quote the same fashion. The loss of Johnny Sexton is still keenly felt and there is an over reliance on some players who are in the autumn of their careers.

Scoreboard flattered Andy Farrell's team but bench-impact is a positive That the better side won convincingly - on the scoreboard at least - is beyond dispute but that the better side deserved to win convincingly is not. Before Saturday's game against Japan, Andy Farrell had declared his pre-match mantra as "a lot needing to be better as far as accuracy is concerned but our intent in how we play the game, we need a reaction to that".

Breaking | Ireland 41 Japan 10 Don't be fooled. The one-sided scoreline only tells part of the story because for large periods of this sleepy lunchtime affair in Dublin 4, Ireland were very poor. They got the win they needed after last weekend's defeat to the All Blacks, yet this sloppy display was far removed from the response that head coach Andy Farrell demanded.

Beauden Barrett starts at 10. Not that you're asking, but I've never thought that's his best position. But what do I know? Ardie Savea is at 7 . I think that's his best position rather than 8. So maybe I do know a thing or two. Cam Roigard, one of the best 9s in the world, continues to make that jersey his own.

Michael Bent's Ireland career ended in the same manner that it had started 10 years earlier. Initially parachuted into the squad from left-field, or the family farm in New Zealand to be precise, Bent (who qualified to play for Ireland through his Dublin-born grandmother) later came full circle when he was again called up out of the blue - this time on home soil during Ireland's 2022 summer tour.

A lack of evolution has left Ireland playing catch-up as the build-up to World Cup 2027 gathers pace

Ireland hope to back up last week's opening World Cup win over Japan with another victory at Franklin's Gardens in Northampton this afternoon. Scott Bemand has made seven changes for today's game against Spain, as the side keep one eye on their final Pool C clash with New Zealand next Sunday. Rian Noctor takes you through all the action below on our liveblog.

The visitors aimed for a complete sweep on the tour but ultimately fell short, showing they are good but not great.

Nancy McGillivray proudly wore her first cap as a new Ireland player during the warm-up game against Scotland, marking her debut in Irish rugby.

Cian Prendergast is deeply proud to represent the westerners, emphasizing that he never takes his call-ups for Ireland for granted, reflecting on a supportive family background.