Murray Kinsella reports from Wembley

TOMMY BOWE SAT eating his breakfast in Ireland’s team hotel in Wembley this morning with a sense of satisfaction at a job well done.

The 31-year-old had badly needed a performance.

Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

He and his teammates reflected on the incredible Irish support at the stadium across the road during the win over Romania, laughing as they saw a few Irish jerseys about the place and wondering if they were “still finding their way home” from the night before.

A couple of hours later, Bowe was in front of the media to talk about his return to form after what had been a deeply worrying display against England in the World Cup warm-ups.

“I was disappointed with that performance, to be honest,” said Bowe. “I’d normally be relatively consistent and that day was definitely one of the more difficult ones. I think I bounced back well from it, I think I turned it around.

“I was able to put it behind me early enough and the last week or two I’ve trained well enough. I was just excited about getting back out onto the pitch again.

When you have a performance you’re maybe not happy with, you want to get back out there and move on past it. That was the best way to do it.”

Bowe was pleased with his aerial game, as he made several dominant catches of the high ball, and his defensive effort was strong following the notable missed tackles at Twickenham earlier in the month.

His first try was especially well finished after Romania had been allowed to drift out to the right wing despite being numbers down, Bowe joking that he was “surprised that Zeebs (Simon Zebo) didn’t show and go himself.”

Keith Earls was exceptional on the other wing, while the form of Luke Fitzgerald and Dave Kearney means Bowe’s effort to earn selection in the coming weeks is all the more difficult.

Bowe finishes for his first try. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

Previously something of a guaranteed starter for Ireland, Bowe has found the shift to squad player an arduous one.

“It’s tough, of course it is,” said Bowe. “I want to be playing every week but there’s always going to come a time when there’e players pushing for your place. I see it as a good challenge, I enjoy the challenge of competition.

“I’m having a fight to try and get myself back in the jersey again. Dave is playing exceptionally well, all the back three are. Of course I’d love to be number one, going out sure of my place, but the added pressure brings out the best in all of us.”

At fullback, the performance of Simon Zebo underlined that Schmidt has a strong back-up for Rob Kearney, although the glute injury to the incumbent first-choice is concerning.

Bowe has no doubt that Zebo has the credentials to step in as the starter if Kearney is ruled out for Italy and potentially longer.

I think Simon is pushing Rob hard for his place there at fullback,” said Bowe. “He’s a very exciting player and he’s showed that he’s capable at doing the basics very well, as well as being able to light it up as well.

“I think it just shows the competition for places, that if anyone is to drop out of the squad we have more than enough people to come in, put their hand up and do a good job for the team.”

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