IRELAND head coach Joe Schmidt was disappointed with his team’s accuracy during Thursday’s Thomond Park 22-21 loss against the Barbarians.
Schmidt did afford several promising youngsters a chance to shine during the fixture as Ireland prepare for the Rugby World Cup in the Autumn.
“Probably a bit of our accuracy and how many times we were turned over on the ground,” Schmidt replied when asked what disappointed him about the display.
“They just found out how difficult it is in that breakdown area to survive when there’s real quality about sniffing out turnovers.”
"It's a little bit difficult but you can still get an idea of who coped in the situations which arose.
“We got an opportunity to look at some guys at a level they hadn't played at before to see how they adjusted against players they hadn't played against before."
Despite the result Schmidt was delighted to have Chris Henry back available again. “I still think he’s working his way back to the top of his game, but you can see he’s taking steps every time he does play. I’d hope that he continues to take those steps and he’s certainly in our thinking.”
