Probably more due to expectations than anything else.
Iro was the better performer on the day - but fans had higher expectations of him (rightly or wrongly).
This is such a silly statement that sports fans make. He was playing centre in a team who spent the whole time coming out of their own end, and was outside halves who combined for 9 errors in the game. What was he supposed to do? Push Berrell out of the way so he can chip and chase from his own 30?
I'm far from the biggest Iro fan on here, but it seems a couple of "solid" performances have swung the pendulum too far the other way for some fans.
True. Did his job but didn't blow the doors off. Maybe that was what the coach wanted to see.
Could make a case that he outplayed the guys he was competing with to be next man in (Hiroti and Stonestreet). That might have been the plan all along.
Agree he objectively played better than SS and Hiroti. Certainly for left centre he’s got to be ahead of them, rest up in the air.
As for what he could have done better - maybe nothing, if there is literally nothing he could have done better then so be it. Still doesn’t make him stand out to beat Talakai for the spot though I suspect.
Maybe if he finds a bigger hit, a strip, maybe 9 runs for 89m with 1 tackle break needed 1% more effort somewhere knowing his chance was in his hands, maybe he shouldn’t have gone 7-2 for tackles.
You could watch back and say actually he couldn’t have possibly not missed those tackles but at the end of the day seems that performance wasn’t enough to give him first go again the next week, which is what he wanted. (Or perhaps he knew from coach he was still not even close enough a big game could give him first go next week)
Maybe a big hit knocks a ball loose and a couple sets later he scores up the other end. Or perhaps the big attempt ends up another missed tackle or a penalty and he was better off not going for it.
But again, overall, it was a chance I think it’s fair to say he didn’t manage to really grab a hold of, regardless of circumstances.
I’m not criticising him. I agree in the way the game played out he played solid.
But he didn’t win himself a jersey.