Ireland 10-16 Wales
An odd afternoon at the Aviva Stadium saw Wales beat Ireland by 16-10 in an oddity of a match that will have given both coaches food for thought as they finalise their Rugby World Cup 2015 squads.
A converted try by Justin Tipuric and three penalites from Leigh Halfpenny proved enough to eclipse a try by Iain Henderson and a Jonathan Sexton penalty.
For Ireland, eye-catching performances by Iain Henderson and Robbie Henshaw were the positives with Henderson in particular making a strong case that he should start the big matches in the second row alongside captain Paul O’Connell.
On the negative side of the ledger, Ireland lost Richardt Strauss and Keith Earls to injury. Earls will be particular cause for concern as he was stretchered off after a lengthy stoppage.
The match was heavily influenced by referee Craig Joubert but both teams also contributed to a spectacle that lacked flow by making frequent errors.
Wales landed the first blow of note, Scott Williams making a trademark break to take play within metres of the Irish line. A try looked a certainty with Ireland threadbare in defence and Wales well set only for the ball to be passed directly to a retreting Irishman.
He looked offside for all the world but with no ruck formed, referee Joubert got the call right and let play continue. Ireland were able to scramble the ball clear through the boot of Peter O’Mahony.
The concern at the video review session will be the ease with which Ireland were opened up in a relatively straightforward situation.
Wales kept the pressure on and Ireland needed O’Connell to make a typically influential play on his own try line to stop one attack.
But they were punished when Richardt Strauss was whistled for illegal entry to a ruck, Halfpenny opening the scoring with a typically piercing strike from near the touchline.
Wales kept the initiative and some sharp passing between the backs saw Ireland once again forced to defend desperately on their own line. Again, they conceded points, this time a try after a series of mauls, the first two of which were collapsed, ended with Tipuric crossing. Halfpenny landed the conversion from a difficult position to put Wales up by 10 with just 25 minutes on the clock.
Ireland gradually improved through the rest of the half with Rob Kearney’s nicely timed arrival into the line getting the crowd going and Henshaw added zip to the attack whenever he got a chance.
A strong carry by the inside centre led to Wales being penalised for not rolling away and Jonny Sexton duly put the chance over from a central position to get Ireland on the scoreboard.
A key turnover by O’Mahony gave Ireland a final chance to register points and they eventually took advantage with Henderson crashing over.
Wales were the authors of their own misfortune to an extent as they opted to take a scrum when they could have had a lineout with time up. Ireland duly shoved them off the ball and earned a penalty.
Ireland went for a quick tap instead of the three points but after a lengthy series of attacks they hadn’t come close to getting over tryline. Enter Henderson, who showed exactly why he is considered a potential starter in the second row by bullocking over a trio of Welshmen for a psychologically important try. Sexton’s conversion levelled matters at half-time.
The replacements began to arrive thick and fast, adding to the staccato tempo of the match.
Ireland looked to be going well and when a superb improvised kick by Sexton bounced to touch in the corner they appeared to be in excellent position only for play to be called back for a ‘clean out by the neck’ on Tipuric. Take note of Joubert’s description of that move as a ‘key area of focus’.
The day had begun to darken and the mood inside the stadium also took a turn for the worse as play continued while Earls was receiving treatment for what looked like a serious injury. Earls was eventually able to give the thumbs up as he was taken off on a motorised stretcher to thunderous applause. Hopefully it is not as serious as it first looked.
The replacements continued to arrive with Conor Murray and Sexton among those to make their exit.
Wales were given another penalty near halfway and again, Halfpenny landed it to retake the lead.
The mental pressure of trying to make the squad began to tell as Sexton’s replacement, Paddy Jackson, attempted an extremely ambitious drop at goal and was predictably charged down. Ireland lost a slew of yards.
The odd slant to proceedings continued when Donnacha Ryan, typically a second row or blindside, replaced Ireland centre Luke Fitzgerald with 13 minutes left on the clock. A huge hit by Henshaw on Toby Faletau confirmed that the play was still of the highest intensity.
Welsh pressure resulted in Halfpenny landing another penalty to stretch the lead out to six with 10 minutes to go.
As a light rain began to fall, Ireland battled manfully as they sought the decisive score and had a final chance when a Welsh infringement allowed Jackson to kick a penalty to touch within 10 metres of the Welsh line.
The crowd roared their encouragement as Ireland tried to bash their way to victory. Henderson had a go at repeating his party trick and got close before substitute hooker Sean Cronin barrelled over the line.
The crowd roared their approval but Joubert’s initial decision was that he had been held up and eventually a replay showed that he was right.
And that was that, a Welsh win.
O’Connell, playing his last Test on home soil, was given a raucous send-off at the end of a match which both sides could take a few positives from and ultimately one which will quickly enough be forgotten as the focus turns towards the final squad announcements.
