Sexton: 'Fingers crossed' Beirne cleared as Ireland weigh changes for Japan

"If you look at it in real time, it looks very different to how it looked when you slow things down," Johnny Sexton said about Tadhg Beirne's red card against the All Blacks.

Ireland coach Johnny Sexton suggested there will be changes to the team which faces Japan from the one defeated by the All Blacks. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Ireland’s coaching group are hoping Tadhg Beirne will be available for selection against Japan in Dublin this Saturday following his 20-minute red card against New Zealand in Chicago last weekend.

Beirne faces a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday night into his dismissal by match referee Pierre Brousset after just three minutes of the Test match at Soldier Field. The dismissal was a controversial one after Beirne’s shoulder made contact high on ball carrier Beauden Barrett, with the All Blacks fly-half suggesting he would offer mitigation to his opponent for what was deemed by many observers as a rugby incident.

Barrett had not been expecting a pass from his scrum-half Cam Roigaard having run a decoy line and Ireland lock Beirne appeared to be taken by surprise at being put into a tackle situation, bracing for his opponent’s impact rather than attempting to wrap his arms at short notice.

Ireland assistant coach Johnny Sexton, speaking on Tuesday at the IRFU High Performance Centre, said: “There’s a hearing tonight.

“I don't really know how it works. I haven't been in too many disciplinary hearings myself over the years. But the way I see it, we'll let it unfold tonight, but if you look at it in real time, it looks very different to how it looked when you slow things down.

“So we're hoping that we get a good outcome but again, you just don't know with these things. But we're fingers crossed that he'll be available for selection, yeah.” 

There is also an injury doubt from the 26-13 defeat in Chicago, with centre Stuart McCloskey forced off early in the second half with a groin injury. Sexton suggested there was optimism the in-form Ulster back could be available to face Japan but his return could come in the following weeks of the Quilter Nations Series, against either Australia or South Africa.

“He was excellent for the time that he was on the pitch,” Sexton said. “It's unfortunate for him, obviously, picking up a little strain. I don't think it's too bad though. And he was doing a bit of work with the physios today while the rest of us were training, so hoping that he'll be back involved, whether it's this week or next week, I'm not sure yet.

“I haven't heard from Andy (Farrell) yet but he was very impressive on the pitch. He started the season amazingly well and it's great, another centre in the mix. So it's good for us, yeah.” 

Farrell is set to reveal his side to face a Japanese team coached by Eddie Jones which lost 61-7 to South Africa at London’s Wembley Stadium last Saturday. Sexton suggested there would be rotation to the Ireland selection but not wholesale changes.

“It'll be a bit of both. It’s a bit of giving guys a chance, for sure. Some of it will be selection, guys will get a chance because others didn't play that well at the weekend.

“So it's always a mixture, isn't it? We need to make sure we pick a team that goes out, first of all, and tries to win the game. It's a really important game for us, as all these games are, with regards to rankings and with the World Cup draw coming up.

“So picking a team to win, first and foremost, but at the same time, Andy knows that in two years' time, we're going to a World Cup and we need to have 40 players ready to go.” 

There will certainly be an element of needing to right the wrongs of a disappointing performance in Chicago that saw Ireland outclassed in the final 20 minutes but Sexton said there was not one simple fix to work on in training ahead of the Aviva Stadium November opener.

“It's a lot of things, isn't it? It can't be just one thing. It’s a little bit of everything. That’s a couple of penalties, a couple of inaccuracies in our attack, a couple of kicks, a couple of missed tackles. It’s not one thing, it never is, and it's about just figuring out why, because that's the most important thing, so we can learn from it and it doesn't happen again.

“It's trying to turn the page, really, taking the lessons. Andy's always very good at that when you're in the environment, he always reframes things, we move on pretty quick, but he also keeps us accountable and makes us realise that it wasn't good enough. And sometimes it can happen like that and we understand that. And sometimes you can put it down to prep or do guys take their eye off the ball a bit, but it just didn't go to plan on the day and we've got some good reasons for that now and we'll make sure that it doesn't happen again.”