'Aw no, he was wearing a green jersey so it stayed yellow' - Fiji boss unhappy with Sam Prendergast call

Fiji head coach Mick Byrne suggested Ireland out-half Sam Prendergast escaped an early red card during his side's 52-17 defeat in Dublin because he was playing for the home team.

Rookie number 10 Prendergast, who was making his first Test start, was sent to the sin-bin by referee Hollie Davidson in the eighth minute at the Aviva Stadium after leaning a shoulder into Kitione Salawa.

Shocked Fiji co-captain Tevita Ikanivere was heard exclaiming, 'what?’ on Davidson’s microphone following the decision not to upgrade the yellow card on review.

While Byrne was also unhappy with the judgement, Ireland boss Andy Farrell felt the original punishment was "harsh enough".

Asked if he was expecting Prendergast to be ordered to stay off, Byrne said: "Aw no, he was wearing a green jersey so it stayed yellow."

Prendergast, 21, returned to set up the first of Mack Hansen’s two tries and also slotted five of his seven conversion attempts.

Captain Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Craig Casey, Bundee Aki, debutant Gus McCarthy and Ronan Kelleher also claimed tries for the dominant hosts.

Farrell said: "I get why it is (a yellow) but, to me, he turned his back and it’s harsh enough. I’ll have to have a look at it again but that’s the game, isn’t it?

"I thought our discipline was pretty good in general.

"He (Prendergast) had a few mistakes within his game but he was pulling the strings for a good while, and he was really, really composed."

Farrell made seven personnel alterations for the game, including handing first caps to McCarthy and flanker Cormac Izuchukwu and a maiden start to Prendergast.

His much-changed side produced Ireland’s most convincing display of an autumn campaign which began with a sobering defeat by New Zealand and a narrow success