Ireland struggle past Samoa in final RWC warm-up

Ireland will head to the Rugby World Cup off the back of a record 13th consecutive win, but their victory against Samoa will have offered more questions than answers to Andy Farrell.

The 17-13 was by some distance the worst Ireland have offered over this 13-month winning streak, as they battled through dreadful weather conditions and what looked like a large helping of pre-tournament nerves before eventually getting the job done against a Somoan side who will take huge confidence into Pool D of the World Cup.

With Farrell set to name his squad tomorrow, the main aim of this game in Bayonne was to get in and out with a win and a clean bill of health. A first half injury to Cian Healy means only one of those objectives could be reached.

The Leinster loosehead looked in real discomfort as he was helped from the field with a lower leg injury just after the 20 minute mark following a collapsed scrum, and was unable to put any weight on his right leg as he was helped from the field.

With the World Cup just two weeks away, the subconscious self-preservation of players means we can read too much into what have been an interesting set of results across the board this weekend, but the performance will come as a major wake-up call for the world's number one ranked team.

The inconsistent lineout from the first two warm-up games was taken apart by Samoa in the opening half, and while it improved with the introduction of Rob Herring and James Ryan after the break, it will be the biggest area of concern for Farrell and Paul O’Connell.

For several players, this was the game to book their place in the World Cup squad, which will be named tomorrow, but those contenders on the fringe of selection did little to boost their chances.

Tom Stewart