Ireland stars come through URC weekend unscathed

With all four Irish provinces in action on the last day of United Rugby Championship action before the autumn international break, national coach Andy Farrell will have had a busy afternoon and evening keeping track of his key players.

In years gone by, those Test frontliners would have been wrapped in cotton wool for this round of domestic action but, with a down week between the end of the first block of the URC and New Zealand's visit to Dublin on 8 November, a whole host of would-be starters were instead in action.

While there were some eyebrows raised at the strength of the sides named by the provinces, Farrell will surely have cut a relieved figure as his prospective Test side appeared to come through unscathed.

Indeed, a few will have benefitted from the match-action too.

The biggest boost for Ireland ahead of the autumn was the return to action of Robbie Henshaw in Leinster's win over the Lions.

The experienced British and Irish Lion, still only 31-years-old, had not played since the summer tour to South Africa but managed 78 minutes in his seasonal debut in the 12 jersey.

Ireland have real depth in their midfield with Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose and Stuart McCloskey all in the squad, but Henshaw has been a starter in Ireland's last seven games.

New captain Caelan Doris, his back-row colleague Josh van der Flier and full-back Hugo Keenan were all strong performers at the Aviva Stadium, although it was not all positive with Ryan Baird limping out of the contest with 13 minutes to go.

There was a moment during Connacht's comfortable win over Dragons that would have had Irish hearts in mouths as Bundee Aki remained down on the ground long after play had progressed down the field.

A nominee for World Rugby's player of the year award in 2023, the 34-year-old has been linked with a move away from Irish rugby this week but he remains a key cog for Farrell.

He showed why in his province's win over the struggling Welsh region, offering some superb touches including one fine try assist.

Elsewhere for the western province, three-times capped Cian Prendergast was a try-scorer, bouncing past Dane Blacker on his way to the line, and prop Finlay Bealham had some key defensive involvements away from playing his part in a dominant scrum.

Two sets of players glad that Ireland's warm-weather training camp in Portugal next week will provide a change of scenery will be the 13-strong contingent from Ulster and Munster.

While Conor Murray and Peter O'Mahony did not feature in Munster's loss to the Sharks, Calvin Nash, Tadhg Beirne, Craig Casey and Jack Crowley were starters in the heat and altitude of Durban.

Nash and Beirne were both scorers on the day, the latter's try bringing up a bonus-point in defeat, while there was little to be taken from Casey and Crowley's performance as a half-back pairing behind a beaten and bruised pack.

Crowley's performance off the tee involved some poor contact, although he has historically been a strong kicker since assuming the number 10 jersey from Johnny Sexton.

Jacob Stockdale, Ulster's form player this season, was rested for his province's stunning concession of a 19-0 lead against Cardiff, while Rob Herring has still not featured this season due to a calf problem despite being named in Farrell's squad.

Provincial skipper Iain Henderson was making his return from concussion but was taken off after just 24 minutes, although Ulster later said his replacement was not due to injury.

The others on show - Tom O'Toole, Nick Timoney, Stuart McCloskey and Cormac Izuchukwu - are all most likely to feature against Fiji, the third of Ireland's four fixtures.

First up, it is the All Blacks in two Friday's time when even those coming into camp off strong provincial form will know a huge step up awaits.