A selection of the “keyboard warrior” reactions after the full-time whistle of our featured matches of the weekend.
If you’d like to contribute stay tuned to our Facebook page for our “Feel free to leave your thoughts…” posts which show up around full time after Leinster & Ireland matches.
Why bother bringing McGrath on with 3 mins to play? Marmion didn't offer much by 60 min mark and should've been subbed. Glad to see Sweetnam looked settled in already
Craig Kelly
Fair play to Fiji! Fought hard for everything. 👏👏👏 @nemani_nadolo great stuff— David McGovern (@daveo_irl) November 18, 2017
Got there, depth exposed a bit.
Pádraig Turley
Cian Healy will probably be pretty good once he fills out a bit— Ronan Murphy (@Ro_Murph) November 18, 2017
-Marmion looked very average, McGrath shoul have come on earlier
-Conway played very well at FB
-Farrell looks average also and doesnt provide much in attack.
-thought Cian Healy was finished a couple of years ago, but he looks in phenomenal shape
-Fair play to Keatley closing out the game
Micheal Mac An TSagart
Lucky but overall a deserved win.— Mick O Brien (@mickobrien1) November 18, 2017
Pray for Carbery.
Cian Ormond
Just watched #IREvFIJ. Terrific proper match. Far more valuable than a 40pt romp. Kudos to Fiji, way better than the Boks.Great fun.
— Brian Donnelly (@bptd1234) November 18, 2017
Sloppy second half, great to see we have genuine options on the wings now, though I don’t think Kearney is one of them, loose pass for their second try, put us on the back foot, Carberry potential superstar , needs to practice his goal kicking, Leinster need to stop trying to shoehorn him into a 15. Cian Healy back to his best, we’ve got the 2 best looseheads in NH , but with such an inexperienced side , it was great to close out the victory and keep the momentum going!
Mike Reidy
Well, thank goodness that's over with a win for Ireland. First half was great but what happened to us in the second half? #irevfij— Dr Jennifer Kavanagh (@quiatimet) November 18, 2017
I thought 9,12,13 were ineffective and the pack was only ok.Carberry and Conway the stand outs with a good cameo from Healy and Sweetnam showed potential.Disappointing that McGrath did not get more time. Hope Carberry’s injury is not too bad.
Noel Hewson
Think Herring n McCloskey will struggle to see green again. An odd game all around ...lIke to see Dillane put on about 10kg...a win was in doubt..nice kicking from Keatley at the depth..Carberrys inj a worry.— Mark Jackson (@markusjacksonus) November 18, 2017
Thank God for the 4 'C's, Carbery Conan, Conway and Cian Healy 😁. Marmion was awful and should gave been replaced at half time. Luke McGrath showed more skill in his one box kick than Marmion did in the entire game Not many newbies putting a hand up for a place next week.
Paul Smith
Fiji's defence was excellent today. Too bad there were just too many handling errors. They had Ireland there for quite some time. Good game. #IREvFIJI— E. (@justeon) November 18, 2017
If all our Leinster players come through these games injury free Ill be happy.We need them for the European Cup and Pro 14.
Deirdre Kennedy
Big up Fiji. Actually think they maybe deserved more from that to be brutally honest. Ireland were very poor but a lot of that caused by Fiji pressure— The Jackalist (@thejackalist) November 18, 2017
Thought our starting 9 wasn't great in decisions, speed of passing or positional play and that that had a knock on effect throughout. Overall though, a good run out and good to see Cian H back to his barnstorming best.
James Griffin
Pretty bad from Ireland, but the fluency was never going to be good after 13 changes. Good test, though, a win and Carberry showed his class— John O'Sullivan (@NotoriousJOS) November 18, 2017
Very disappointed not to see an in form Luke McGrath get at least 25-30 mins. Think Conan should start at 8 next week. Hope Carbery ok...🇮🇪
Jamie Donohoe
Well that was an easy run out 😜 @HarpinOnRugby Prefer this to a romp as they’ll learn more from it @IrishRugby #COYBIG— Richard Mifsud (@Richmif) November 18, 2017
Thought it was a great result considering it was a second string side against a decent top 10 ranked nation. Fiji are always difficult to defend against in the loose and the Irish defence dealt with it well. I thought D Kearney was ok apart from the intercept pass that he threw. Great to see some of the up and comers get a good run out.
Damian Scott
A great day for the spread betters as Fiji beat the bookies' expectations by 22 points. Cracking display from the Islanders who could have nicked it. Plenty for Joe Schmidt to digest, much more informative than a rout.— Rúaidhrí O'Connor (@RuaidhriOC) November 18, 2017
Cian Healy proving everyone who says there’s no second acts in rugby wrong!
Dee Beare
McGrath getting three minutes the most disappointing thing about that. Marmion was not good— Covfefe O'Donoghue (@ColmODonoghue) November 18, 2017
The gap between our first choice 9 & 10 is an area we need to work on. Apologies if I am biased but Luke McGrath has to be given more time with Ireland. His box kicking is closer to Murray than Marmion. Joey is magic but his kicking stats must improve. The close result will put all in a better mindset for next week.
Mel Cawley
The Taoiseach is Ron Burgundy #TagAviva pic.twitter.com/4GsHRtHy6D— Niall Power (@mrniallpower) November 18, 2017
Conway proved himself solid at 15. Id prefer him there. Lovely footwork from Carberry but, as I think we all expected, he is a little light still. Fiji have a great attitude - thanks to them for visiting.
Garry Wynne
An extremely 'un-Joe' performance - accuracy and decision-making well below standard. That said, credit to Fiji they fronted up really well in areas we probably expected to be comfortable. Need both A team and A game next week. #IREvFIJ #ShoulderToShoulder— Harpin' On Rugby 🏉 (@HarpinOnRugby) November 18, 2017
Many thanks to all who offered opinions.
Look out Monday for our match writeup JLP
