WALES DUG IN again and again and again. They made a whopping 240 tackles in Dublin last night.
Blindside flanker Alex Mann made 32 of them in a tireless performance.
Dafydd Jenkins wasn’t far behind on 27, while James Botham and Dewi Lake were also over the 20 mark.
It’s almost unfair to call it the Welsh resistance because there was aggression in how Steve Tandy’s men defended. They launched themselves into double tackles when Ireland carried narrow, while they got very high on the edge of their defence, the idea being to funnel Ireland into breakdowns that the Welsh jackals could contest.
This certainly wasn’t the passive, disorganised defensive performance that Ireland faced when they hammered England two weekends ago.
And yet, despite their laudable defensive efforts in Dublin, the Welsh couldn’t prevent Ireland from notching a bonus point as they scored four tries and made nine linebreaks in their 27-17 victory.
Andy Farrell’s men were quite clinical with their entries into the 22, scoring an average of 3.4 points on their eight entries. Wales, on the other hand, averaged 2.1 points on their eight entries, according to Rugbypass.
There was some high-quality attack from Ireland, with Jacob Stockdale’s sixth-minute try coming at the end of an oppressive passage of Irish play in the Welsh 22. Their carrying was direct and powerful, their ruck work was forceful and their passing – including Jamison Gibson-Park’s bullet to Stuart McCloskey, who tipped a short ball on to the accelerating Stockdale – was pleasingly precise.
The Jamie Osborne score that sealed the bonus point was slick. It came from a clever lineout attack where Ireland went back into the shortside for Josh van der Flier to sweep a pass to Jack Crowley on the move. Crowley and Stockdale sent Jack Conan thundering down the touchline and Gibson-Park nearly scored before Ireland stayed calm with penalty advantage. Stockdale’s basketball pass to Osborne was neat.
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Crowley’s first-half try was well taken, too. The forwards carried confidently and with penalty advantage in play, Gibson-Park’s pass gave Crowley time to throw a dummy and beat Ben Carter on the outside.
The impressive Conan took his try after half-time powerfully, doing well to hold a wayward pass from Caelan Doris before powering through Welsh out-half Dan Edwards and dotting down.
That was some of the good stuff from Ireland and they will be rightly proud of having found ways to crack the stubborn Welsh defence.
This was one of the best performances Wales have delivered for some time, with their defensive work rate matched by an improved level of physicality, some good kicking, important aerial wins, and that Rhys Carré try.
All of that must be acknowledged in assessing the Irish performance.
And yet, there will be displeasure for Farrell and co. about not getting some separation from the visitors last night.
The period after Conan’s try was perhaps the best example as Ireland struggled to get out of their own half. They ended up trying to run the ball from deep, which eventually saw them punished with the James Botham score that brought Wales right back into the contest.
After Crowley’s score late in the first half, Ireland also failed to get out. With 50 seconds remaining until the break, they tried a diagonal contestable which they knocked on. Wales scored from the ensuing scrum with the clock in the red.
We often hear talk of ‘game management,’ and these were instances when Ireland’s came up short. Lessons will need to be learned quickly because Farrell’s men have fallen foul of this a few times in the Six Nations.
Whereas Ireland got a sense of control in their record-breaking win over England in Round 3, they never quite managed to get that edge against the Welsh until finally making it a 10-point game in the closing stages.
The Irish bench had made a nice impact by that stage, with Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier providing the kind of punch that Farrell would have expected when he decided to include them among his replacements.
Farrell was right to give Wales as much credit as he did last night and he was justified in praising his players for coming through an intense Test match with five match points, teeing them up for a shot at the Triple Crown next Saturday against Scotland.
Andy Farrell. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Yet the Ireland boss knows better than anyone that there were rough edges on the Irish performance that may need to be polished before the visit of the Scots. Their clash with France in Edinburgh today will tell Farrell more about the threat that Gregor Townsend’s side pose to his hopes of retaining the Triple Crown.
Twickenham may well end up being the peak performance of Ireland’s Six Nations campaign. It would take some beating, to be fair, for it was a magical day for the Irish supporters who were lucky enough to be there.
But the way Farrell operates, he’s always after the next high. He will be pushing this squad of players to have saved their very best for last.
With Scotland coming to town hunting for the Triple Crown, their first since 1990, Farrell will be demanding a real step up in accuracy from his men. There is silverware on the line but as Ireland keep telling us, they’re most focused on performing.
So in that sense, they will want to finish with a bang as Scotland look to spoil the party in Dublin.
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Wales' whopping 240 tackles made life tough but Ireland still scored four
WALES DUG IN again and again and again. They made a whopping 240 tackles in Dublin last night.
Blindside flanker Alex Mann made 32 of them in a tireless performance.
Dafydd Jenkins wasn’t far behind on 27, while James Botham and Dewi Lake were also over the 20 mark.
It’s almost unfair to call it the Welsh resistance because there was aggression in how Steve Tandy’s men defended. They launched themselves into double tackles when Ireland carried narrow, while they got very high on the edge of their defence, the idea being to funnel Ireland into breakdowns that the Welsh jackals could contest.
This certainly wasn’t the passive, disorganised defensive performance that Ireland faced when they hammered England two weekends ago.
And yet, despite their laudable defensive efforts in Dublin, the Welsh couldn’t prevent Ireland from notching a bonus point as they scored four tries and made nine linebreaks in their 27-17 victory.
Andy Farrell’s men were quite clinical with their entries into the 22, scoring an average of 3.4 points on their eight entries. Wales, on the other hand, averaged 2.1 points on their eight entries, according to Rugbypass.
There was some high-quality attack from Ireland, with Jacob Stockdale’s sixth-minute try coming at the end of an oppressive passage of Irish play in the Welsh 22. Their carrying was direct and powerful, their ruck work was forceful and their passing – including Jamison Gibson-Park’s bullet to Stuart McCloskey, who tipped a short ball on to the accelerating Stockdale – was pleasingly precise.
The Jamie Osborne score that sealed the bonus point was slick. It came from a clever lineout attack where Ireland went back into the shortside for Josh van der Flier to sweep a pass to Jack Crowley on the move. Crowley and Stockdale sent Jack Conan thundering down the touchline and Gibson-Park nearly scored before Ireland stayed calm with penalty advantage. Stockdale’s basketball pass to Osborne was neat.
Crowley’s first-half try was well taken, too. The forwards carried confidently and with penalty advantage in play, Gibson-Park’s pass gave Crowley time to throw a dummy and beat Ben Carter on the outside.
The impressive Conan took his try after half-time powerfully, doing well to hold a wayward pass from Caelan Doris before powering through Welsh out-half Dan Edwards and dotting down.
That was some of the good stuff from Ireland and they will be rightly proud of having found ways to crack the stubborn Welsh defence.
This was one of the best performances Wales have delivered for some time, with their defensive work rate matched by an improved level of physicality, some good kicking, important aerial wins, and that Rhys Carré try.
All of that must be acknowledged in assessing the Irish performance.
And yet, there will be displeasure for Farrell and co. about not getting some separation from the visitors last night.
The period after Conan’s try was perhaps the best example as Ireland struggled to get out of their own half. They ended up trying to run the ball from deep, which eventually saw them punished with the James Botham score that brought Wales right back into the contest.
After Crowley’s score late in the first half, Ireland also failed to get out. With 50 seconds remaining until the break, they tried a diagonal contestable which they knocked on. Wales scored from the ensuing scrum with the clock in the red.
We often hear talk of ‘game management,’ and these were instances when Ireland’s came up short. Lessons will need to be learned quickly because Farrell’s men have fallen foul of this a few times in the Six Nations.
Whereas Ireland got a sense of control in their record-breaking win over England in Round 3, they never quite managed to get that edge against the Welsh until finally making it a 10-point game in the closing stages.
The Irish bench had made a nice impact by that stage, with Joe McCarthy and Josh van der Flier providing the kind of punch that Farrell would have expected when he decided to include them among his replacements.
Farrell was right to give Wales as much credit as he did last night and he was justified in praising his players for coming through an intense Test match with five match points, teeing them up for a shot at the Triple Crown next Saturday against Scotland.
Yet the Ireland boss knows better than anyone that there were rough edges on the Irish performance that may need to be polished before the visit of the Scots. Their clash with France in Edinburgh today will tell Farrell more about the threat that Gregor Townsend’s side pose to his hopes of retaining the Triple Crown.
Twickenham may well end up being the peak performance of Ireland’s Six Nations campaign. It would take some beating, to be fair, for it was a magical day for the Irish supporters who were lucky enough to be there.
But the way Farrell operates, he’s always after the next high. He will be pushing this squad of players to have saved their very best for last.
With Scotland coming to town hunting for the Triple Crown, their first since 1990, Farrell will be demanding a real step up in accuracy from his men. There is silverware on the line but as Ireland keep telling us, they’re most focused on performing.
So in that sense, they will want to finish with a bang as Scotland look to spoil the party in Dublin.
It promises to be a fantastic occasion.
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Six Nations Ireland Scotland ups and downs Wales