Five individual performances that will keep Joe Schmidt on his toes

Five individual performances that will keep Joe Schmidt on his toes

Ireland claimed a solid victory over Wales in their final home game before the Rugby World Cup which doubled up as Rory Best and Joe Schmidt's final test on Irish soil.

Ireland final run out will have provided Joe Schmidt with some answers but have provided even more questions for the outgoing head coach.



Rob Kearney 


Controlled at the back and solid under the high ball, Rob Kearney was excellent once again today putting in strong performance that will convince Joe Schmidt that he is his starting fullback for the big games in Japan if he didn't know that already.

Kearney had another all-round strong game which will do his hopes of starting no harm.


Robbie Henshaw & Bundee Aki

The pair were excellent against Wales with Aki continuing to perform in the #12 jersey while Henshaw was equally good on his return to the starting line up.

Henshaw was particularly good on defence making numerous good reads and even came up with an excellent cover tackle on Dan Biggar who looked certain to score.



The pair's performance in the midfield will have Joe Schmidt questioning whether he should stick with the ex-Connacht pair or start Garry Ringrose at outside centre.

Ringrose has been excellent off the bench and covers multiple positions but has been a starter for Schmidt for most of his test career.

Keith Earls

Earls had a strong game for just under an hour but was unable to finish the clash due to injury. With the first World Cup game just two weeks away, Schmidt might be tempted to start the likes of Andrew Conway, Jordan Larmour or Jacob Stockdale over the experienced Earls if he feels he is unable to play a full 80 minutes.

Earls is an almost certain starter and is one of the more intelligent wingers but Schmidt will be thinking how he fits his in form wingers into his 23.

CJ Stander

A strong performance on the side of the scrum will please Joe Schmidt as CJ Stander continues to prove his worth at test level. Stander formed a strong back row with Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan while Rhys Ruddock really threw his weight around off the bench.

Stander's performance will solidify his starting role whether it is at 8 or at flank but it will be interesting to see if Schmidt will persist with Josh van der Flier at openside or if Peter O'Mahony could fill that role.

Any way you look at it, Schmidt has a few options in his back row and they all look strong.

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