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Ross Byrne was an unfortunate victim of circumstance when Ireland fell in a 57-15 loss to England, according to Bernard Jackman, who believes the second half was “prepared to fail”.
The team, then led by coach Joe Schmidt, had been to a training camp in Portugal in August 2019 before traveling to London, where they encountered an unbridled England team that ran in eight attempts.
“Frankly, it’s hard to describe it without using a lot of profanity,” Captain Rory Best said after Ireland threw a record hammering.
Schmidt said his team looked “scruffy.”
It was Byrne’s third international game and his first start and saw him lose a place on the World Cup squad, which was named just over a week after the game.
Connacht’s Jack Carty took the spot on the plane to Japan alongside Sexton and Joey Carbery.
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Now, with Sexton injured and Billy Burns, who debuted in last week’s win over Wales, on the bench, it’s 25-year-old Byrne who has the chance to fix things. The Leinster Man is one of four changes made to the side by Andy Farrell.
“He’s probably one of Ireland’s strongest mentally-strong players and he’s been that way from a young age so I think he’ll be able to park that day at Twickenham,” former Ireland hooker Jackman told the RTÉ Rugby podcast.
“I think he was prepared to fail in terms of the way the whole team performed.
“It had been an intense week of training in Portugal, getting to play against England that [had a different build-up].
“I don’t think he sees that as a true reflection of his ability.
“He’s probably the closest match for Johnny’s replacement and that’s probably why Burns was on the bench before him last weekend.
“He’s surrounded by a better prepared team, better prepared to go to Twickenham than in the last World Cup preparation game.
“There is a lot of competition [at out-half], his own brother [Harry] He’s also raising his hand at the provincial level so that he can be someone to get into that team on time.
“I would have no concern for Ross Byrne.”
Follow England v Ireland this Saturday via our live blog on RTÉ.ie / sport and the RTÉ News app, watch live on RTÉ One starting at 2pm, or listen to updates live on RTÉ’s Saturday Sport Radio 1.
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