It was all going so well.
Ireland have been left with two injury concerns after hooker Rob Herring and outhalf Joey Carbery were both forced out of the World Cup warm-up against Italy with knocks.
Herring lasted only 16 minutes of the game, at the Aviva Stadium, while Carbery was looking good until he appeared to get caught in a ruck and jar his ankle.
The Italians also lost three players to injury in the space of just 50 minutes as the first game of the season for both sides proved costly.
The major concern for Ireland will be Carbery, who had scored a fine try and kicked two conversions before he left the field on a motorised stretcher. Carbery was caught in a ruck as Ireland were defending in their 22 and needed help standing before the cart was called for.
The fans clapped him off the field but there was a palpable sense of worry in the air, especially as Johnny Sexton injured his thumb earlier this summer.
Warm (if worried) reception as Joey Carbery leaves the pitch on a cart
Looked like it could be ankle pic.twitter.com/Uq7hQpmZaW
— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) August 10, 2019
Connacht’s Jack Carty replaced Joey Carbery for the remaining 25 minutes of the half.
Ireland looked shaky in the early stage but were helped by some poor Italian kicking off the tee and tries for Carbery, Jordi Murphy, Dave Kearney and Andrew Conway, in the first 50 minutes of play.
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