Ireland fell to their second defeat of the autumn series when beaten 30-6 by Wales at the Gnoll in Neath.
It took less than ten minutes for the hosts to break the Irish defence when a missed tackle let Lloyd white through. He needed support with Joe Taylor chasing him down and it came in the form of full back Andrew Gay who outpaced Liam Finn to touch down.
The Welsh went straight back on the attack and Gay again looked like scoring but superb tackling from Ireland held him out.
However, Ireland came back and Finn spotted the chance to kick a 40/20 and he did so with ease and gave his side back possession only for Luke Ambler to knock on close to the line.
The hosts had all the possession and territory but errors meant they could not get any joy over the Irish try line.
But with 20 minutes gone Christian Roets doubled the Welsh lead when he went around Tim Bergin to touch down in the corner. Ian Webster added the conversion to bring the score to 10-0 in favour of the hosts.
It didn’t take long for them to add their third when Tyson Frizell touched down after another line break for the Welsh.
It wasn’t all Wales however, as Callum Casey found space in midfield and covered thirty yards but again an error ended the attack and gave Iestyn Harris’ men the ball once more.
With Wales on the attack the half time siren sounded leaving the game 14-0 to the home side at the break.
The second half start much the same as the first when Mark Lennon broke away from the Irish backs to touch down.
Poor tackling led to a fifth Welsh try with Elliot Kear easing through the tackle of Casey and dashing away from Tyrone McCarthy.
Following this try Mark Aston’s men got back into the game and Finn was starting to find gaps in the defence but again the final pass would not go to hand.
After a lull in the proceedings Wales bagged a sixth try when Jordan James powered over to touch down under the posts with Webster’s conversion making the score 30-0.
Tim Bergin finally got Ireland off the mark when McCarthy chipped over the defence and fed the Sheffield Eagle who touched down in the corner.
This would be the final action of the game as Finn’s conversion closed the game out on a more positive note for Aston’s men.
Up next for Ireland is a home fixture against France in the first ever rugby league game in Limerick’s Thomond Park.
