How good was the Munster man in this game? Ireland rounded off the November internationals with an excellent 57-14 win over the USA this evening, with a number of players taking their chance to impress Joe Schmidt.
The Irish coach used this game as an opportunity to test out some of his fringe players, and they certainly did not disappoint. The like of Jack Conan and Tadhg Beirne were fantastic, but one man in particular stood out.
Andrew Conway grabbed three of Ireland's eight tries, with his finishing ability proving a real asset during the whole 80 minute. It was not just his scoring that stood out however, with the Munster man producing a very well-rounded performance.
He grabbed his first try inside three minutes. Conway started the move in his own half, with Ruddock providing the decisive line break before returning the ball to the winger.
Andrew Conway saunters over for the opening try against the USA after being put through by Rhys Ruddock pic.twitter.com/ech2UEhiUq
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) November 24, 2018
He was on hand to make Ireland's pressure count just a few minutes later. After a stunning Will Addison offload, he touched down in the corner to finish off a wonderful Irish attack.
He then turned provider, running a strong line to split the American defence before offloading to the oncoming Jack Conan.
Jack Conan dives over for Ireland's third try after Andrew Conway punched a hole in the defence pic.twitter.com/jj72BWr8S6
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) November 24, 2018
Conway continued to perform well throughout the second half, and he completed his hat-trick in the final few minutes. He can thank Garry Ringrose for that, after the Leinster centre came up with the run of the game, leaving a number of defenders in his wake before playing in the winger.
Andrew Conway has his hat-trick but all the work was done here by Garry Ringrose who made a glorious break as Ireland bring up the half century of points pic.twitter.com/su2EmCoWZJ
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) November 24, 2018
Unsurprisingly, Conway received the man-of-the-match for his efforts. Twitter reacted wonderfully to his performance.
3 - Andrew Conway is the first @Munsterrugby back to score a hat trick for @IrishRugby since Mike Mullins in 2000, also against @USARugby. Triple.
🏉🏉🏉🍀🍀🍀— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) November 24, 2018
Andrew Conway was on fire! Well deserved man of the match #IreVsUSA
— Mícheál DeBarra (@micheal_debarra) November 24, 2018
So thrilled for Andrew Conway...unassuming, incredibly talented player who gives his all in every single game...so proud of him #IREvUSA @MRSC16
— carmel o connor (@carmeloconnor1) November 24, 2018
Andrew Conway fantastic tonight. No surprise given his last couple of seasons with Munster. Class act #IREvUSA
— Shane Madden (@Shane_Madden92) November 24, 2018
Conway's performance tonight is yet another example of the strength-in-depth, with Joe Schmidt seemingly having a number of quality payers at his disposal in every position. That is a very encouraging sign as we enter a World Cup year, and one would hope that one or two injuries will not scupper our World Cup hopes this time around.
For Conway, he can use this performance as a springboard for 2019. He will surely be hoping to win a larger role in this Irish team, even if he faces plenty of competition to do so.
Joe Schmidt will find him difficult to ignore should he continue his current form, and it will be a much-welcomed conundrum for the Irish coach to solve over the coming months.
