Iain Henderson: World Cup selection not a factor in unconvincing Ireland display

Stand-in captain Iain Henderson insists looming World Cup selection was not a factor in Ireland’s underwhelming performance in scraping past Samoa.

Ireland were far from convincing in rain-soaked Bayonne but ultimately emerged with a 13th consecutive win on the eve of Andy Farrell naming his 33-man squad for France.

Second-half tries from Conor Murray and Rob Herring earned an unconvincing 17-13 success after Samoa battled back to lead following Jimmy O’Brien’s early score.

Finishing the pre-season block with a record 13th straight win!