Green grind highlights Irish room to improve

Andy Farrell was less than impressed by Saturday's action. 

Jack Crowley of Ireland is tackled by Kalaveti Ravouvou of Fiji. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

LITTLE portrays a disengaged crowd better than the spectacle of a Mexican Wave and its arrival at Aviva Stadium during the second half of Saturday's laboured Test victory should prove as effective as any criticism that will come Ireland’s way during Andy Farrell’s performance review.

The final score may suggest otherwise but the healthy winning margin disguises the struggle Ireland had in putting the contest beyond doubt, despite an early second-half sending-off for Fiji’s Albert Tuisue and a yellow card either side of the interval that left the tourists short-handed for 45 of the 80 minutes and down to just 13 players for 10.