‘HE WAS EXCELLENT’- JOHNNY SEXTON FULL OF PRAISE FOR IRELAND CENTRE AFTER ALL BLACKS LOSS

Ireland are still recovering from their sobering night in Chicago on Saturday as a last 20-minute burst gave the All Blacks a convincing 26-13 win at Soldier Field.

For large parts of the match, Ireland were in good territory to win, but a lack of killer instinct and the substitutes not being able to match the energy of New Zealand saw the Kiwis make it three wins in a row over Ireland.

‘It’s a lot of things, isn’t it? It can’t be just one thing. It’s a little bit of everything,’ Ireland assistant coach Johnny Sexton said when speaking ahead of Ireland’s second November test with Japan this weekend.

‘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.’

Saturday’s defeat was definitely an eye-opener for Ireland, as this squad began to look stale. The issues at set pieces and on the edge defence cost Ireland yet again, something that is becoming a recurring theme.

However, along with the debut of Paddy McCarthy, the performance of Stuart McCloskey in the centre was a huge positive for Ireland.

The Ulster man was given a rare opportunity with both Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw not being 100% heading into the clash, and he took that opportunity with both hands.

He was the lone bright spark in the Irish attack, breaking several tackles and being a nuisance for the Kiwis. However, the centre is now set to miss the Japan test with a groin injury.

‘He was excellent for the time that he was on the pitch,’ Sexton said of McCloskey. ‘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 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.’

2025-11-04T18:39:38Z