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League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Ireland centre Stuart McCloskey.Gary Carr/INPHO McCloskey a rare positive of a sloppy showing in Chicago Technical difficulties and on-pitch errors made for a frustrating watch. 10.46pm, 1 Nov 2025 Share options Ciarán Kennedy IN MANY WAYS this was a hard watch. Not hard in the sense of low quality, but hard in the sense that the whole spectacle was just so poorly put together. The first warning came as the players warmed up on the hard, patchy surface at Soldier Field. The second arrived as New Zealand’s anthem singer was left awkwardly waiting for the music to kick in. If it felt like an eternity for those of us watching on, imagine what it must have felt like to be the poor fella holding the microphone. Imagine what it felt like to be Barry Murphy stood a short distance away, knowing you’re next. As it happened, Murphy – wearing Anthony Foley’s old jersey – delivered another fitting tribute to the Munster and Ireland great nine years on from the famous figure of eight formation. The Rugby World Cup is coming to America in 2031, and what was served up in Chicago was so far off what will be needed in six years’ time – indeed it was a bad day all round for USA Rugby, with the national side thumped 85-0 by Scotland in Edinburgh. Wherever you stand on Tadhg Beirne’s dismissal – the lock seeing an early yellow card for a high collision with Beauden Barrett upgraded to red on review – we can all agree the delay in dealing with the matter was an utter mess. Just two minutes into the game, referee Pierre Brousset had a major call to make, and was informed they couldn’t get the replays up on the big screen. Brousset was the most important individual in that scenario, but those who had paid their way in were also left frustrated as the ref mic failed to keep those in the stands informed of what was happening on the pitch. The players also had hearing issues, clearly struggling to notice Brousset’s whistle on a number of occasions. At another point a message was fed through that Ireland’s number five needed to be removed for a HIA. At that stage, number five – Beirne – had long departed. Eventually number four, James Ryan, was identified as the correct player and removed. Those watching at home might have wondered why NFL coverage offers better camera angles from Soldier Field. Advertisement It took over 50 minutes to get through the first 40 minutes of this game. A sporting occasion on this scale shouldn’t be so sloppily packaged. Pierre Brousset had to deal with some technical difficulties.Gary Carr / INPHO Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO And Ireland will feel frustrated with how sloppily they ended this game. Andy Farrell’s side were the better team for three quarters of the contest, but blown away across the home stretch. It was a classic New Zealand performance in the worst way possible from an Ireland perspective – staying an arm’s length and living off scraps before finishing on top through accurate, lethally-quick snaps of play. In the debrief some will feel Farrell’s players were indeed undercooked against a side who have a full Rugby Championship in their legs. A more pressing concern might be why Ireland didn’t make more of the periods when they were on top against a New Zealand team who for large portions, offered very little threat. Ireland’s last score came from the boot of Jack Crowley on 51 minutes. New Zealand had barely had a sniff at that point but would leave the pitch with four tries to their name, Ireland just the one. That attack needs to be more ruthless for the upcoming home Tests against Japan, Australia and South Africa. So too a lineout which functioned at just 69%, a problem area this team are struggling to fully shake off. There’s lots of knives which need sharpening, but it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Ireland played their best rugby when Stuart McCloskey was on the pitch, the Ulster centre justifying his surprise inclusion in the first XV. The 33-year-old threw himself into a fragmented encounter and did everything Farrell would have wanted from him. McCloskey showed up as a powerful ball-carrier and was a go-to option as Ireland settled into the game and dealt with the early loss of Beirne. McCloskey squeezed nine carries into the opening 40 minutes – three more than any other player on the pitch. One of those came in the build-up to Tadhg Furlong’s opening try, McCloskey playing his part in a sharp, accurate attack after a bold decision to go to the corner while playing with 14 men. McCloskey made a series of powerful carries.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO It wouldn’t have taken much to elevate McCloskey’s excellent opening 40 into something truly special. Twice he was agonisingly close to executing clever offloads which threatened to open up the pitch for his team – the first coming after the half-hour mark as Ireland surged on the back of a massive Caelan Doris carry, the second minutes later as Farrell’s men pushed along the left wing. For a player who has been so consistent and reliable in the green jersey, opportunities to showcase his talents under the brightest lights have been few and far between. At times that’s proved utterly frustrating for the County Down man, but there’s also been an understanding he’s fighting for air in one of the most competitive areas of the squad. An out-and-out 12, McCloskey’s direct rivals for a jersey have been Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw. If one of those two takes a dip or injury, the other is usually primed to step up. Today was cap number 22 for McCloskey, arriving almost a decade on from cap number one (v England in February 2016). Eighteen of those have been as a starter, but only a handful against the traditional top nations – (twice against South Africa (2024, 2022), once against all of Australia (2022), France (2023) and England (2016). McCloskey was pulled ashore after 56 minutes as Farrell sent Aki in for the final quarter. Farrell might rotate again for Japan next week, but as it stands, it will be interesting to see who he favours for the dates with Australia and South Africa later this month. Indeed, it will be interesting to see how Ireland react to what was ultimately an underwhelming start to their November campaign. Ciarán Kennedy View 6 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “McCloskey a rare positive of a sloppy showing in Chicago ”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “McCloskey a rare positive of a sloppy showing in Chicago ”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. 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