Ireland suffer Leamy blow

Denis Leamy seems certain to miss out on Ireland’s final autumn international against South Africa after he was carried off with an ankle injury in the 41-6 victory over Fiji at the RDS in Dublin.

The good news for the Munster back-row forward is the X-ray did not reveal any fractures and a scan tomorrow should give the Irish management a better indication of the severity of the injury.

Hooker Jerry Flannery should definitely be available despite requiring some attention to a nose injury.

Coach Declan Kidney was pleased with the victory, although the injury to Leamy is undoubtedly a blow.

Much of the focus at the post-match press conference was on the performance of Jonathan Sexton on his debut at fly-half.

The Leinster player contributed 16 points by landing five conversions, three from the touchline, and two penalties.

Initially, Kidney remarked, tongue in cheek, Ireland’s man of the match had “done okay”.

But he continued: “Jonathan showed great maturity out there.

“Then again, I’m not surprised. Last year, when things were not going so well for him, he stuck at it, which is a great sign.”

Kidney admitted it will now be a tough choice between Ronan O’Gara and Sexton for the fly-half spot against South Africa.

That said, the coach is virtually certain to stick with the experience of O’Gara in the starting line-up, using Sexton from the bench.

Sexton was understandably pleased, commenting: “I’m very happy, but there are always things to work on.

“Obviously, everyone in the squad wants to start, but they are not decisions I’m here to make.”

Skipper Brian O’Driscoll, one of Ireland’s try-scorers, reflected the victory was not as easy as the final scoreline suggested.

He said: “One thing I have learned is that you have to grind down sides. That took us 60 or 70 minutes. The days of cricket scores in these sorts of matches are behind us.”

Fiji coach Glen Ella was also full of praise for Sexton, stressing: “I was impressed by Ireland’s number 10. He has a bright future for many years to come.

“We actually played much better than 41-6. Obviously, Ireland are a quality team, they are very clinical. Naturally, we are disappointed but, in saying that, we improved from the Scotland game.

“We did, however, have a problem competing for the full 80 minutes.”

Assistant coach Mike Brewer agreed Ireland were superior to Scotland.

He said: “The difference is how clinical Ireland are. We definitely improved from the Scotland game, but Ireland play with pace and intensity, whereas Scotland are not there yet.”