Andy Farrell praised his side's resilience as they held off a determined Wales at Aviva Stadium, although the Ireland head coach admitted his side lacked patience at times in their 27-17 win.
While France could seal the title tomorrow afternoon, Ireland know they will have a Triple Crown decider against Scotland to look forward to at the very least, as they ground out a bonus-point win against Steve Tandy’s side.
Ireland outscored their visitors by four tries to two, but looked a level or two below their ruthless performance a fortnight ago against England, as they allowed Wales stay in the fight, with Rhys Carre and James Botham each scoring tries just as it looked like Ireland were ready to pull clear.
With 15 minutes to play, it looked like they were ready to cause an upset after getting back to 19-17 behind with a quarter of an hour to play, but Farrell’s side found another gear just when they needed to, as Jamie Osborne’s try and a Jack Crowley penalty pushed them through for a 10-point win.
"I thought we were resilient in how we went about our business," Farrell said of the win.
Delight and frustration – Irish head coach Andy Farrell has a range of emotions after their 27-17 Six Nations win over Wales. pic.twitter.com/HwTdiYdHok
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 6, 2026
"If you watch the story of the game, holding on and getting a bonus point win. We'd be delighted with that.
"It doesn't always go your own way in Test match rugby, especially when the other team turns up and plays like that."
Ireland left tries behind them, particularly in the first half, as they ran into a Welsh wall in the 22, while they gave up penalties in clusters and in costly areas which allowed Tandy’s side opportunities to score.
"The offside is the hotbed, isn't it, for referees at this moment in time and to keep giving them another opportunity on another opportunity.
"When you're defending your own line pretty well, it gives them the territory and the feel-good factor that they're after, there's no doubt.
"Of course, we converted our chances pretty well a couple of weeks ago [against England], with the conversion rate in the 22. I thought we came up against a rock-solid defence who kept knocking us back and we should have just been a little bit more patient at times.
"I thought we'd get our reward from that. But I think most of the credit of how that Test match unfolded has to go to Wales because I thought they were outstanding in the way they went about the fight.
"It was a dogged Test match and that's how these types of test matches should be."
The head coach singled out Joe McCarthy (above) for praise after a major impact off the bench with the game on the line.
The second row showed a deft touch to kick a grubber down the touchline which provided the territory for Ireland’s bonus-point try, before a crucial lineout steal later in the game when the gap was still just seven points.
And having been named among the replacements despite a big performance against England last time out, Farrell says his second row was in determined form.
"He was on the sideline for a while with his coat off, he was itching to get on," the Ireland coach laughed.
"He got on and certainly made a difference, yeah. Some great highlights within the game, one was Joe going down the touchline and kicking the ball.
"It was a big turning point, isn't it? Turning the game around as far as the territory is concerned, another is Robert Baloucoune's one-handed pass out the back there, at that stage of the game, was pretty special."
Ireland will be hoping for a Scotland win against France tomorrow to set up a thrilling final day, but whatever happens, the Scots will come to Aviva Stadium with a Triple Crown to play for.
It’s 36 years since Scotland have beaten their British and Irish rivals, and while Ireland have won eight in that time, Farrell (above) insists it remains a special goal for them to chase.
"We should never take a Triple Crown for granted at all.
"If you look at some of the greats that have played for our team, they come few and far between within a career.
"So, to be in a position to try and perform to get that over the line makes it a special week for us.
"We need to make the most of the extra day, as far as recovery is concerned, then we bounce into what's going to be a special week for us.
"Playing against Scotland, they'll be relishing coming here I'm sure. It doesn't get any bigger for us," he added.
