Ireland hopes Johnny Sexton will be able to play next weekend’s second Test against New Zealand, despite suffering a head injury in the series opener.
After Saturday’s defeat by Auckland 42-19, 31 minutes passed, the captain was taken to a Head Injury Assessment (HIA).
The second half was not completed by Fly-half Sexton.
Andy Farrell, the head coach, said that Sexton is in contention to test in Dunedin next Saturday after he passed the second stage HIA protocol.
Farrell was questioned after the game by Farrell about why his captain didn’t return to the pitch if Farrell had passed the second stage of the HiA 2.
He explained, “Because they test him and deemed him unfit to go on because there are all sorts of tests that can be done.”
“You can stumbling in your studs, but not go off,”
Head injuries require that players undergo a three-stage HIA protocol. The third stage is performed between 36 and 48 hours after the incident to determine if there has been a late diagnosis.
World Rugby has recently adopted a new rule that allows players with concussion to be a part of a rehabilitation program. minimum of 12 days out of action.
Farrell stated that “But Johnny is fine there,” following Saturday’s loss.
“HIA 2 has been passed. HIA 3 will hopefully follow in a few days. If this happens, it is concussion not confirmed.
Ireland enters next Saturday’s second Test with the understanding that they must defeat New Zealand’s All Blacks for the first time to keep their hopes of winning the three-match series.
The hosts scored four tries in the first half to win the contest. They were able to control the contest and keep Ireland at arm’s reach in the second.
Ireland had some good attacking moments, scoring three tries. However, they were stopped on numerous occasions by the All Blacks defense who destroyed many try-scoring chances.
Joey Carbery, Josh van der Flier thought they had scored second half attempts only for the TV match official to record them.
Farrell expressed gratitude for the “at least five scoring opportunities” that Farrell had given.
“Obviously, we’ll take a look at the reasons we didn’t convert, but there were a few that weren’t.
“Some were deemed too short or not enough. Joey was not rightly grounded, and he had to make a knock-on or fumble. [Carbery], apparently. They’ve been given to me before, but that’s another story.
“I thought we created quite some but, ultimately, as I said before, you have to score against the All Blacks. That’s undisputed.”
Keith Earls’ sixth minute try was a reward for Ireland’s quick start. It suggested that Farrell’s team had the potential to run New Zealand close in a stadium where they have never lost since 1994.
Things quickly went sour for the visitors, as New Zealand capitalized on Irish errors to take a 23-point advantage into the interval.
“That’s what they do, isn’t that?” Farrell agreed.
“You can attack lovely and think you’re going well but then suddenly, your eye is off the ball and you see an intercept. If you’re not accurate enough, quick enough, or aggressive enough at the wide break, it’s possible to be too aggressive.”
In the meantime, centre Stuart McCloskey has been flown to New Zealand by James Hume’s Ulster teammate. James suffered a serious groin injury that ended his tour against the Maori All Blacks.
He is Ireland’s third late call-up, after Niall Scannell from Munster and Ed Byrne.