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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Michael Scully

Ciarán Frawley a Test doubt after knee injury as Andy Farrell says A team must learn lessons

Ciarán Frawley jarred his knee in Ireland A's heavy loss to the All Blacks XV and could now miss a Test debut against Fiji next Saturday.

Frawley started at no 10 in the 47-19 defeat at the RDS Arena and scored the first of Ireland's three tries in the 37th minute.

But he came off seven minutes into the second half having received treatment on the field on a couple of occasions.

READ MORE: Ireland 'A' 19-47 All Blacks XV : New Zealand fringe stars run riot at RDS

The versatile Leinster back, who had a successful time in the green jersey against the Maori All Blacks last July, was in line to play against Fiji.

But he will now be assessed ahead of that second game in Ireland's Autumn Series.

Ryan Baird also missed out tonight due to just missing out as he completes return to play protocols, and Ireland boss Andy Farrell said that Joe McCarthy was "in good spirits" after he didn't return from an eighth minute HIA check.

Farrell said that he wants his own players - many of whom he was hoping would put their hands up for Test recognition - will have to reflect on where they must improve following the impressive visitors' seven try victory.

The head coach said: "The standard of the opposition was top drawer and it’s great that it was that way because it’s all about the experience and the only thing that matters in this experience that we faced tonight is the learnings from it.

“I’ve just said to the lads that it’s what they make of this now.

"It’s what they make of the performance itself and how you break it down and how you take it back to your daily lives, whether you adjust things and see where you are really at.

“In that regard you want them to feel a completely different experience and they certainly got that tonight.”

Farrell insisted: “There’s no excuses. It's tough on the lads.

"They have had two training sessions, they have been together for four days.

"We had Ryan Baird unfortunately didn’t make it at the last minute and Ross Molony hasn’t even had a session with us.

“But that’s how international rugby is as well. People get injured late in the piece and they’ve got to be able to fit in."

And Farrell said the step up has been shown to some of his younger players to be steeper than they would have thought.

"Some of them don’t even play that much for their provinces, so they’re not getting used to international level at all," he said.

"We’re trying to give them an experience of what international level is so that they either reassess their daily habits and actually kick on to say, ‘it’s not a step up, it’s probably five steps up to where I thought it was'.

"And I suppose that experience has to be a good one for all really, and if it’s not, then it is what it is."

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