Irish rugby: Tom O’Toole needed four days to be ‘fully right’ after concussion against All Blacks

O’Toole had been promoted to Ireland’s matchday squad for the All Blacks game after Tadhg Furlong’s injury meant Finlay Bealham started at tight-head prop.

It was a big game for O’Toole, who did not feature in the summer’s two-Test series against the Springboks in South Africa after making just one appearance off the bench in this year’s Six Nations.

While the Drogheda native says being concussed so soon after being introduced was “really tough”, he insists he would not do anything differently were he to find himself in the same situation.

“When you’re coming up against the All Blacks, especially at home and how big of a game it was, you come on and within two minutes you get a scrum, a carry and you feel like you’re in the game and then all of a sudden you’re out,” said O’Toole.

“Unfortunately, I don’t remember too much after it. Watching it back is obviously pretty disappointing.

“That’s rugby, without being too cheesy or whatever. That’s the game, that’s what happens. [I’ve] probably watched it over 100 times to see if I could have done anything differently but unfortunately you can’t really.

“I just got caught. As I said, I wish I could’ve done something differently but I don’t think I would have done anything differently if I had it again.”