Murray Kinsella Reports from Principality Stadium

Wales 18

Ireland 27

CHAOS IN CARDIFF. It always seems to be the way.

The bottom line is that Ireland have won the Triple Crown and their Grand Slam bid remains intact, but only just. They found themselves in major trouble at the Principality Stadium as they trailed at half time to a much-improved Welsh side.

A 20-minute red card for centre Garry Ringrose late in the first half made Irish lives more stressful in front of a raucous, fired-up crowd but they managed to steady themselves enough to get in front and make it three wins from three in this Six Nations.

Not that it was a stress-free second half for Simon Easterby’s men. Wales made Ireland fight for every inch the entire distance, although Jamie Osborne’s try proved crucial before Sam Prendergast’s penalties gave Ireland a hint of breathing room. 

Matt Sherratt deserves huge credit for what he has done in just a week since taking over as Wales’ interim head coach following Warren Gatland’s exit as the home side showed much greater conviction and precision to cause Ireland huge problems throughout.

Ultimately, it’s a 15th consecutive defeat for the Welsh but this was very different to many of the previous miserable days.

Ireland will look back on the sloppy elements of their performance with frustration and recognise that they escaped what might have been a massive shock defeat, but they will be proud to have shown some of their trademark resilience in the endgame. 

This was a proper battle and Ireland won it.

Mack Hansen’s tackle on 21-year-old debutant Welsh wing Ellis Mee in the 73rd minute proved to be vital as it helped deny them a try that could have put Sherratt’s side back in front. It was one of a few moments when Ireland had to scramble and managed to come up with the goods.

They will know better than anyone that they need to find huge improvement before the visit of France to Dublin in two weeks but their Grand Slam dream is still alive and they have earned a 14th Triple Crown in their history.

Ireland celebrates Jack Conan's early try. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

Both pre-match anthems were rousing, with serious Irish support in Cardiff. The deafening rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau spoke of rekindled Welsh hope but might have faded after Ireland’s good start.

They crossed the tryline as early as the seventh minute, scoring off the back of a Josh van der Flier and Hansen counter-ruck turnover followed by Ringrose’s 50:22 grubber kick.

Big carriers like van der Flier, Andrew Porter, and particularly Joe McCarthy came to the fore, the returning second row beating three defenders before Jamison Gibson-Park popped the ball short for Jack Conan to finish through Welsh scrum-half Tomos Williams.

Sam Prendergast converted and added a penalty as the first quarter of the game elapsed for 10-0 lead but in truth, Ireland had already started to show a sloppy edge. They made several handling errors while their scrum had four penalty concessions in the first half, Andrew Porter and Thomas Clarkson pinged twice each.

A poor Gibson-Park kick invited Wales to counter against Ireland, sparking a period of pressure that should have ended with a Welsh try in the 25th minute only for Williams to knock on with the tryline begging after superb work from Tom Rogers and Jac Morgan.

Ireland had their turn to miss a try-scoring chance five minutes later when Jamie Osborne’s pass to Ringrose wide on the left went too low and was knocked on by the centre.

Joe McCarthy carries for Ireland. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

The sloppiness continued as a poor Irish lineout delivery led to them being barged off their own ruck in midfield, with Wales winning a penalty and kicking it into the Irish 22. Once in there, Ringrose failed to roll clear from a tackle and TMO Ian Tempest also showed that the Irish centre had made clear head-on-head contact with Ben Thomas.

He was shown yellow as the incident was sent for off-field review, Gareth Anscombe kicked his second penalty of the day to reduce the Irish lead to 10-6 and then Wales finished the half on top.

Prendergast hit the post with a long-range penalty attempt, then spilt a high ball before Ireland’s scrum gave up a penalty to bring Wales back into the Irish 22. They won another penalty and backed themselves to go into the corner before battering at the Irish tryline.

Eventually, the Irish resistance cracked as Welsh flanker Jac Morgan surged through the tackle of van der Flier and Clarkson to dot down with the clock nearly three minutes in the red, Anscombe converting for a 13-10 lead that thrilled the fiery Welsh crowd.

Ireland were in trouble, with referee Christophe Ridley confirming that Ringrose’s yellow had been upgraded to a 20-minute red card just before the second half got underway.

Garry Ringrose was red-carded for a first-half tackle. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

And Ireland were rocked again in the 43rd minute as Prendergast knocked the ball on while running a loop play, with Wales pouncing on the loose ball hungrily. 

They countered with intent, Mee making ground up the left into Irish territory before they swept the ball back out to the right where fullback Blair Murray rounded Prendergast on the edge of the defence and held Lowe long enough to give Rogers time to produce a stunning rugby league-style acrobatic finish in the right corner.

The airborne finish had Wales 18-10 to the good and Ireland had to respond quickly, which they did by muscling their way down the other end and earning a penalty for Prendergast to kick, closing the margin to five points.

It was a huge relief to the travelling fans to see Bundee Aki on in the 52nd minute, restoring Ireland to 15 players, even if second row McCarthy returned from a HIA to concede a penalty at a maul in the Welsh 22.

Still, Ireland were gaining momentum and replacement tighthead Finlay Bealham’s excellent carry laid the platform for a brilliant spiral 50:22 from Prendergast, ensuring a lineout which proved to be the platform for the equalising try.

Ireland carried and won a penalty advantage that Gibson-Park kicked into the left corner where Lowe cleverly leapt and batted the ball back infield for Osborne to gather and gleefully dot down. Prendergast was just wide with his effort off the tee and the game was tied at 18-18 with 23 minutes to go.

Tom Rogers scores for Wales early in the second half. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

Ireland survived another Welsh charge into their 22 when Mee’s offload just failed to go to hand before a scrum free-kick allowed Easterby’s men to kick clear in a big relief.

In their time of need, Ireland went to one of their slick lineout starter plays and they created space for Robbie Henshaw to carry hard before Gibson-Park sniped through and Wales were caught offside. Mack Hansen briefly thought he had scored on the advantage but he was held up brilliant by Murray and Ridley went back to the penalty. 

And so, in the 67th minute, Ireland edged back in front as Prendergast landed the shot at goal for 21-18. Tempest soon flagged possible head contact by Welsh sub tighthead Henry Thomas on Porter but Ridley felt there was no foul play upon review.

The madness continued and Aki, who was brilliant off the bench, made a massive play as he won a breakdown turnover on the halfway line. Prendergast calmly slotted the 50-metre shot and Ireland suddenly had just a hint of breathing room at 24-18.

Ireland sent Jack Boyle on for his debut with 10 minutes to go, but there was soon another spike in Irish heart rates as Prendergast kicked out on the full from inside his own 22. Wales had a chance to strike back.

Jamie Osborne celebrates. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

And they very nearly did as another superb passage of fluid attack created space wide on the left for Mee but Hansen did just enough to stop him from scoring, the Connacht man’s despairing tackle preventing him from finishing cleanly. An agonising TMO review showed that the stretching Mee had come up just short in the 73rd minute.

That proved to be it for the Welsh challenge and Prendergast’s penalty with three minutes to go gave the scoreline a hint of gloss.

As the final whistle approached, the Irish supporters bellowed out the Fields of Athenry in a mixture of joy and relief.

Wales scorers:

Tries: Jac Morgan, Tom Rogers

Conversions: Gareth Anscombe [1 from 2]

Penalties: Gareth Anscombe [2 from 2]

Ireland scorers:

Tries: Jack Conan, Jamie Osborne

Conversions: Sam Prendergast [1 from 2]

Penalties: Sam Prendergast [5 from 6]