Ireland assess five injury concerns after Argentina victory

Ireland face a series of injury assessments after their 42-12 Nations Championship win over Argentina in Dublin on Friday. BBC Sport reported concerns involving captain Dan Sheehan, Robert Baloucoune, Sean Jansen, Josh van der Flier and Mack Hansen, leaving head coach Andy Farrell to review his squad before Fiji visit on 14 November. The report did not establish how long any of the five might be unavailable.

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Sheehan left during the first half after failing a head injury assessment. Farrell said afterwards that the captain appeared fine in the dressing room, but that observation did not amount to confirmation of his availability for the next match. Baloucoune departed in the 58th minute with a knock, Jansen took a blow to his knee, and Van der Flier and Hansen had ankle concerns. Hansen continued playing after treatment.

The issues involving Baloucoune and Hansen followed a productive evening for Ireland's back three. Hugo Keenan scored a hat-trick, with the two wings contributing to the move that brought his first try: Baloucoune found space before passing to Hansen, who supplied the full-back. Farrell praised all three players for their pace and attacking threat. BBC Sport reported that each had experienced injury problems during the past year.

Despite the six-try victory, Farrell felt Ireland had failed to make the most of their attacking opportunities. His side held 59% of the territory and also had more possession, but did not score again after Ronan Kelleher finished a rolling maul in the 55th minute. Sheehan and Sam Prendergast were the other Irish try-scorers alongside Keenan and Kelleher, as the hosts recovered from Mateo Carreras' early score.

Tadhg Beirne offered a similar assessment, saying Ireland had handled Argentina's strong start and then imposed their preferred game. He welcomed the collective work behind several tries but expressed frustration that later territory and chances had not produced more points. Farrell likewise acknowledged the scale of the winning margin while maintaining that Ireland had opportunities to be more clinical.

The immediate selection decisions will combine those fitness checks with competition for places. Farrell said the performances had given him options for the remaining matches, following a competitive period in training. After Fiji, Ireland face South Africa before the international window concludes with finals weekend in London. For now, the reported knocks remain concerns to be assessed, rather than confirmed absences for those fixtures.