Ireland rookies impress as penalty-ridden Fiji dominated 52-17

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland's fresh charges gave coach Andy Farrell options to ponder for the autumn rugby closer against Australia after they comfortably handled Fiji 52-17 on Saturday.

All eight Ireland tries came off set plays, and the result — and a 29-year perfect record against Fiji — was effectively secured by halftime, when it led 28-3.

Fiji posted historic wins in Europe in the last 15 months against England, Australia and Wales but struggled to get any rhythm. It was undermined by 11 penalties in the first half, alone, and a horrible 17 overall, and a powerful backline was smothered.

Farrell made seven changes to the Ireland XV after the muted performances against New Zealand and Argentina, to inject some life and spice into his aging squad, and they impressed while overcoming some bumps.

Sam Prendergast, the starting flyhalf in his second test, was sin-binned in just the eighth minute for a shoulder shot but returned to manage the backline coolly with soft hands, confident loops, and accurate kicking on and off the tee. He set up one try with a crosskick and converted five.

On debut, Gus McCarthy deepened Ireland's grand stock of hookers with no-look passes and a try after two crooked throw-ins in another shaky lineout, while flanker Cormac Izuchukwu stood out with a high work rate. He would have had a try, too, but for a forward pass.

Ireland butchered three tries, and man of the match Bundee Aki was held up over the line, denying him a second try as he rebounded from being dropped after the New Zealand loss.

Other standouts were scrumhalf Craig Casey in his third start of the year, and in-form wing Jacob Stockdale, who went looking for action in his first test this year until he limped off in the 50th with a hamstring injury, putting him in doubt for the Wallabies next weekend.

“I thought for all sorts of reasons (the game) was very pleasing,” Farrell said.

“First and foremost there’s some really nice stories within our group, with two debutants and people getting a chance to get their second, third start. To get the win, play some nice rugby — could’ve, should’ve done better at times — but I thought we controlled the game very well.”

Captain Caelan Doris, up for world player of the year on Sunday, launched Ireland's scoring with a fifth-minute try after McCarthy burst around the back of a lineout.

While Prendergast was in the sin-bin, McCarthy fed Doris again to send flanker Josh van der Flier charging over.

Up 14-3, Ireland spent the rest of the half blowing more tries than it scored but getting Casey and wing Mack Hansen across.

Aki scored the first try of the second half, barging over from his third touch in a 10-pass buildup.

McCarthy scored from a rolling maul, Hansen got his second try and Ronan Kelleher completed Ireland's biggest win over Fiji in 22 years.

Ireland was patched together by then, with hooker Kelleher in the back row, No. 8 Doris in the centers, and replacement scrumhalf Conor Murray on the wing.

Fiji had to be consoled by tries for flanker Kitione Salawa and its youngest ever test player, 19-year-old lock Setareki Turagacoke, who was in support of Caleb Muntz for his second try off the bench in his second test. Moments later, he also received his first test yellow card.

Of the high penalty count, Fiji coach Mick Byrne said, “At the end of the day, it's on us, we need to get better, and it's not on the referee.” But Byrne also believed the Irish got all of the 50-50 calls because they were at home.

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Ireland's Jacob Stockdale, front, is tackled by Fiji's Josua Tuisova during the Autumn Nations Series rugby union match between Ireland and Fiji, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Fiji's Setareki Turagacoke, right, breaks through to score his try during the Autumn Nations Series rugby union match between Ireland and Fiji, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Joe McCarthy, left, tackles Fiji's Caleb Muntz during the Autumn Nations Series rugby union match between Ireland and Fiji, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Rónan Kelleher, left, celebrates with teammate Craig Casey following the Autumn Nations Series rugby union match between Ireland and Fiji, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's captain Caelan Doris, bottom right, scores a try during the Autumn Nations Series rugby union match between Ireland and Fiji, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Fiji's Kitione Salawa, right, scores his try during the Autumn Nations Series rugby union match between Ireland and Fiji, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Craig Casey, right, scores his try during the Autumn Nations Series rugby union match between Ireland and Fiji, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Ireland's Bundee Aki, centre, is tackled by Fiji's Caleb Muntz during the Autumn Nations Series rugby union match between Ireland and Fiji, at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Tenuous hope for a deal for a giant funding package for poor nations to curb and adapt to climate change emerged late Saturday amid fractured United Nations climate talks, but opposition still remains among some developing nations.

A financial package — a compromise between the $1.3 trillion a year developing nations seek to adapt to climate change and wean off fossil fuels and the current $100 billion amount — is in the works.

Evans Njewa, the chair of the Least Developed Countries negotiating bloc of nearly 50 countries, wouldn’t comment on the latest figure, but said “it’s a good value and we hope we can do better.”

The push for a better number “is the whole reason why we’re still consulting," Njewa said. “They’re still holding small meetings with even the bigger countries, the big economies, so that they can bring on the table that good figure.” He hoped that the deal would see money set aside for the 45 least developed countries.

The latest figure has also been shown to small island nations and it appears to be something that Fiji can live with, its delegation chief Biman Prasad told The Associated Press. He wouldn't reveal the amount, but the previous number that small islands had rejected was $250 billion a year.

The presidency of the COP29 talks said a final draft text on the dollar amounts will be out soon. Prasad said it will be enough because there are options for it to grow.

“Everybody is committed to having an agreement,” Prasad said. “They are not necessarily happy about everything, but the bottom line is everybody wants a good agreement."

Other small island delegates were more circumspect.

“Many things are still inconclusive,” Barbados’ Liz Thompson said. “We agreed to ensure there was not a collapse of the meeting.”

But Panama's Juan Carlos Monterrey called it “unacceptable” in a post on X, saying “the text is detrimental to our future and the qualified goal is still very low.”

And a delegate of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean said their negotiating group had not been consulted.

Earlier on Saturday, negotiators went from one big room where everyone tried to hash out a deal together into several separate huddles of upset nations.

Hallway talk oscillated between hope for shuttle diplomacy to bridge the gap and kicking the can down the road to sometime next year. Negotiators and analysts had mostly given up hope that the host presidency would get the job done.

The Azerbaijan presidency brewed up a new rough draft of $300 billion by Saturday afternoon that was never formally presented, but also dismissed roundly by African nations and small island states, according to messages relayed from inside the main meeting room. Then a group of negotiators from the Least Developed Countries bloc and the Alliance of Small Island States left the room.

When asked if the walkout was a protest, Colombia environment minister Susana Mohamed told The Associated Press: “I would call this dissatisfaction, (we are) highly dissatisfied."

Activists gathered for a final protest outside the hall where leaders meet, calling for rich countries to pay up, some with tape over their mouths. Even in the final weary hours, “it’s about life and death for all of us,” said Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan with Climate Action Network International.

“We are all in one ship. When the ship sinks, there’s no first class or second class. We are all gonna sink together,” he added.

Late Saturday, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev gaveled through less contentious parts of negotiations — although the passing of Article 6, a mechanism to cut fossil fuels through a market for buying offsets for polluters was met with some opposition.

"We know that carbon markets have failed to address emissions and what they’ve done essentially is undermine the mandate to try to reach 1.5,” said Tamara Gilbertson, climate justice program coordinator with the Indigenous Environmental Network, referring to the goal to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above preindustrial times.

“The flaws of Article 6 have, unfortunately, not been fixed,” said Isa Mulder, Policy Expert on global carbon markets. “It seems countries were more willing to adopt insufficient rules and deal with the consequences later, rather than prevent those consequences in the first place.”

The presidency hailed it as a success, saying its passing ends a decade-long wait to unlock a “critical tool” to slash emissions.

Developing countries accused the rich of trying to get their way — and a small financial aid package — via a war of attrition.

After bidding one of his suitcase-lugging delegation colleagues goodbye and watching the contingent of about 20 enter the meeting room for the European Union, Panama's Monterrey Gomez had enough.

“Every minute that passes we are going to just keep getting weaker and weaker and weaker. They don’t have that issue. They have massive delegations,” Monterrey Gomez said. “This is what they always do. They break us at the last minute. You know, they push it and push it and push it until our negotiators leave. Until we’re tired, until we’re delusional from not eating, from not sleeping.”

Monterrey Gomez said the developing world has since asked for finance deal of $500 billion up to 2030 — a shortened timeframe than the earlier proposed 2035 date. “We’re still yet to hear reaction from the developed side,” he said.

He added that there needs to be a deal.

“If we don’t get a deal I think it will be a fatal wound to this process, to the planet, to people,” he said.

Associated Press journalists Ahmed Hatem, Aleksandar Furtula and Joshua A. Bickel contributed to this report.

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Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President, right, and Simon Stiell, United Nations climate chief, embrace after a plenary session at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan's COP29 lead negotiator, gestures as he walks through the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Susana Muhamad, environment minister of Colombia, speaks to members of the media during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Panama Climate Envoy Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez speaks to members of the media during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

John Podesta, U.S. climate envoy, walks through a crowd during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Activists participate in a demonstration at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Jennifer Morgan, Germany climate envoy, right, and Joanna MacGregor, senior advisor for U.N. climate change, talk near Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, bottom left, in a meeting room at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock attends a news conference at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

ADDDS NAME Activist Gina Marcela Cortes Valderrama, center, participates in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Activist Harjeet Singh holds a sign as he attends a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

An activists participates in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Jennifer Morgan, Germany climate envoy, speaks in a hallway during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Activists participate in a demonstration for climate finance at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

John Podesta, U.S. climate envoy, walks in the hallway during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Panama Climate Envoy Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez speaks to members of the media at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Marina Silva, Brazil environment minister, stands near a sign for the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

John Podesta, U.S. climate envoy, center right, and U.S. Deputy Climate Envoy Sue Biniaz, center, walk outside the venue for the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

A member of security stands with the Baku Olympic Stadium in the background during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Attendees pull luggage as they walk into the venue for the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Australia Climate Minister Chris Bowen, center, walks through a hallway at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit in the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

U.S. Deputy Climate Envoy Sue Biniaz, right, and Wopke Hoekstra, EU climate commissioner, second from right, walk out of an elevator during the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit in the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

John Podesta, U.S. climate envoy, right, walks through the hallways of the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit in the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

People sleep in the Chinese delegation offices at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit in the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Activists demonstrate in silence protesting a draft of a proposed deal for curbing climate change at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)