IRELAND coach Paul O’Connell expressed a quiet satisfaction after Ireland’s opening Test victory over Georgia (34-5) in Tbilisi, but now his utmost thoughts are on the second and final outing of the Summer Tour against Portugal at the 37,500 capacity Estádio Nacional do Jamor, Lisbon, on Saturday (kick-off 7pm).
At the weekend, the visitors weathered biblical conditions to win.
“I’m happy with how they played,” said O’Connell afterwards. “It was potentially a banana skin on a bone-dry day. Then, when the heavens opened, it became even more of a banana skin.”
Captain and try-scorer Craig Casey added: “Yeah, obviously very happy. A bit wetter than we expected during the week. We had to adapt our game a bit and I thought we managed the game really well.”
“Our forwards were top-class, so we have to owe it to them. The feeling in the group is awesome, it’s a great start to the Summer Tour.
“There are a few lads making their first caps and we wanted to make it special for them and their families. Thankfully we did that.”
Portugal are guaranteed a third World Cup appearance (2027), after successfully beating Belgium and Germany in the first two rounds of this year’s Europe Championship.
Ireland will be their biggest home game since welcoming Italy in the summer of 2022.
On the local front, Fiona Hayes has left her role as Head Coach of UL Bohemian, back-to-back winners of the Women’s All-Ireland League.
“After two years with our senior team Fiona’s tenure has come to an end. We as a club would sincerely like to thank Fiona for her service, excellence and commitment to our senior women’s squad during what was a remarkable period of success,” a club statement read.
