Andy Farrell played down the severity of injuries suffered by Jack Conan, Jimmy O’Brien and Craig Casey during Ireland’s “clunky” World Cup warm-up win over Italy.
Number eight Conan was pictured in a protective boot following his first-half withdrawal in Dublin, while full-back O’Brien and scrum-half Casey were taken off with shoulder and back issues respectively.
Caelan Doris shone for the Guinness Six Nations champions with two tries in a 33-17 victory in which Dave Kilcoyne, Stuart McCloskey and replacement Cian Healy were also on the scoresheet.
Speaking of the injury concerns, head coach Farrell said: “They seem not too bad.
“Jimmy’s shoulder has shut down a little bit, it’s something he’s had in the past. Jack lost power in his foot, he seems OK.
“Craig had a tight back which was making his hamstring cramp. They were taken off as precautions more than anything.”
An experimental Ireland side recovered from a sluggish start at a subdued Aviva Stadium to take control of the contest but did not fully convince, despite the comfortable scoreline.
“To get up and running with a victory is nice, but I think we all know really that it was a bit clunky, to say the least, at times,” said Farrell.
“There was some really good stuff as far as possession is concerned and opportunities to convert were there in spades.
“But we weren’t patient enough to be able to convert that, so I think that’s the morale of the story really.”
Back-rower Doris, selected in an unfamiliar role at openside flanker, was the standout performer, while Ciaran Frawley, Calvin Nash and Tom Stewart came off the bench to make Test debuts.
“I’m sick of him getting man of the match,” joked Farrell.
“He just keeps getting better and better. We all know he’s good at jackalling and good over the ball and I don’t know whether he took that through the roof because he had a number seven on his back.
“He epitomises what we’re trying to do as far as the player being in control of his own mind.
“It doesn’t really matter whether he makes a mistake or two, he just gets on with the next job the whole time.
“He’s playing extremely well but he’s certainly growing as far as his leadership role is concerned as well. He’s coming on leaps and bounds.”
Ireland move on to a training camp in Portugal before taking on England and Samoa later this month.
Italy head coach Kieran Crowley said: “In the first half, we were dominated all over the place.
“Ireland were too good for us in that first half. Second half, we came back but we’ve still got a lot of work to do in our breakdown work and just in general with our management.
“I saw an improvement in that second half – we won the second half, I think, but that’s not winning the game.”
Wallabies will get things right before Lions tour, promises Rugby Australia chief
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh is confident the Wallabies will be ready to compete with the British and Irish Lions next year, despite suffering the heaviest defeat in their Test history last time out.
Australia were crushed 67-27 by Argentina in the Rugby Championship last time out, their third defeat in four games in this year's tournament.
They were also dumped out of last year's Rugby World Cup in the pool stage following losses to Fiji and Wales, and they are down to ninth in the World Rugby Rankings.
The British and Irish Lions will face Australia in three Tests when they tour down under between June and August next year, with many fearing Joe Schmidt's team will be blown away.
Waugh, however, says there is plenty of time for the Wallabies to get things right before then, telling the Sydney Morning Herald: "You can see the progress is there.
"It is not nearly where we need it to be, but if we keep progressing at the speed with which we have moved things in the last six months, then there is plenty of time.
"It is a team that is, and I hate using the word 're-building', but it is a team that is re-setting, and it takes experience in big moments to get better.
"Obviously, the enormity of the scoreline in that second half was disappointing.
"But there is context that is important... we are not the most experienced team in world rugby, and we are building that experience."
Australia conclude their Rugby Championship campaign with two fixtures against New Zealand before the end of September, then face England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in their Autumn International Tests in November.
Frattesi 'deserves trust' from Inter after Italy form, says former Azzurri midfielder Tardelli
Davide Frattesi "deserves trust" from Inter following his impressive form with Italy, according to former Azzurri midfielder Marco Tardelli.
Frattesi was on target in Italy's victories over France and Israel during the international break, as Luciano Spalletti's side made a perfect start to Group A2 in the Nations League.
The 25-year-old has now scored an impressive seven goals - the most of any player during the Spalletti era - in just 21 appearances since making his senior international debut two years ago.
However, he has not featured as frequently this season for Inter, who he joined from Sassuolo on a permanent basis after his initial loan spell last term, with all three of his appearances coming from the bench.
Frattesi faces competition from the established central midfield trio of Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
But 1982 World Cup winner Tardelli, who expects him to be "a starter" alongside Barella for Italy in the coming years, believes he deserves more opportunities with the Nerazzurri.
"Frattesi needs trust from Inter. There aren't many players like him," the former Inter boss told Gazzetta.
"Inzaghi has many strong players. The trio in midfield - Barella, Calhanoglu, and Mkhitaryan - is a certainty. I can't tell Simone who to play, but everyone's seeing what Frattesi is doing. He makes a difference, and he deserves trust.
"He's one of the new midfielders who knows how to be in the right place at the right time. The goal he scored with his chest against Israel proves it. He's always there. He knows how to make late runs and play vertically.
"He attacks, defends and scores crucial goals. He was decisive last season, despite not being a starter. He has great courage. A player like him gives any coach multiple options, and Inzaghi knows this well."
Spalletti confident Chiesa can fit into new-look Italy
Luciano Spalletti is confident Federico Chiesa can fit into his new-look Italy side after they continued their impressive run in the Nations League.
The Azzurri are currently at the top of the standings in Group A2, having followed up their impressive 3-1 win over France last week with a 2-1 victory over Israel.
Davide Frattesi and Moise Kean netted the goals for Italy on Monday, though they were set up for a nervy finish after Mohamed Abu Fani's late strike.
And they managed to do it without a key player in Chiesa, who was not involved in the squad this international break due to his recent move to Liverpool, but Spalletti is adamant he can find a place for the midfielder in his set-up.
"I imagine he can play as a support striker, but with more freedom to go near the flanks," Spalletti said.
"This 3-5-2 is versatile, at times it can be a centre-forward with a wider figure, it doesn't necessarily have to be two central strikers."
Italy's strength in the final third was the difference in Hungary on Monday, as they had 12 shots, six of which were on target.
Israel were able to match them quite well in the middle of the park, but Spalletti was impressed with his team's patience to get the result over the line.
"The team proved itself very mature, despite generally being of a young age," Spalletti said.
"There was difficulty running into the traffic of the Israeli midfield, it was far more dense and blocked up than against France.
"We had to keep the balance and ran very few risks, but also didn't get frustrated."
Kean had three shots, creating 0.56 expected goals, more than any other Italy player, while Frattesi was close behind him, with two shots, getting both of his on target.
"Frattesi works so hard and creates this superiority in different areas, but he also knows how to read the game and always finds himself in the right place at the right time," Spalletti added.
"It's true that we didn't give Kean enough service, but we did better in the second half and won thanks to our maturity.
"I thought long and hard before choosing these players, as I wanted to bring down the average age of the group and the response was perfect.
"Now we just need to reinforce that initial idea and be open to letting others in, along with the two or three who were left at home this time."
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