Ahead of the game, Ireland took the view that after a leisurely gallop against Romania last week every game from this point onwards should be treated as a knock out game and therefore did Tonga the honour of going with a fully booted and suited Gun XV.
All of which seemed to take Tonga by surprise, the islanders have managed only two warm up matches against a less than stellar Canada side back home and their newly cobbled team appeared ill prepared for the intensity of Ireland in full flow
Ireland struck first with an early Johnny Sexton penalty although there is no question that the Ireland skipper made contact after the 60 second countdown clock had ticked down to 0. It’s a good regulation, so why not use it properly?
Denne historien er fra September 17, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra September 17, 2023-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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England can find a little bit of cheer
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Scarratt leads the way for Lightning
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