Wales finished all Ireland Grand Slam hopes with a 23-16 win in Cardiff. Scott Williams scored their only try with Dan Biggar adding a drop goal and five penalties from Leigh Halfpenny ensured Wales got the victory.
Ireland had enough possession and chances to win two games but ultimately it was Wales’ ability to score when in the opposition 22 that saw their win reignite the 2015 Six Nations. It is a bitter blow for Ireland who were punished for an uncharacteristic sluggish start by the boot of Leigh Halfpenny.
Irish coach Joe Schmidt will be livid after Ireland’s lacklustre opening twenty minutes with Jonny Sexton the chief culprit. Sexton has received plenty plaudits for his displays for his country in the last two years but today was his worst game in green by a mile.
His game was littered with mistakes and was eventually replaced by Ian Madigan. Sexton missed tackles, kicked poorly and let the ball slip through his hands on several occasions. It was a complete nightmare game for the out half.
It was no surprise that it was Paul O’Connell, on his 100th cap that sprung his team to life with some trademark big hits and lung bursting ball carries. He was helped by Jack McGrath and Jamie Heaslip who also made some big early yards.
The lineout, which has been such a strong element to Ireland’s game plan effectively fell apart today with Rory Best having an off day with his darts. At scrum time they were completely on top but Wales limited the amount of scrums Ireland could attack from.
The game levelled off after 20 minutes with Ireland carrying the ball better and forcing Wales to concede multiple penalties which eventually saw their captain Sam Warburton spend 10 minutes in the sin bin. Sexton started to wake up a bit with two successful kicks at half time to leave the game 15-6 in Wales’ favour at half time.
Ireland started the second half with a renewed vigour and thanks to some great rugby were camped in the Welsh 22. Despite some heroic Welsh defence, Ireland will be furious that they could not score after keeping the ball tight rather than spread it wide where there were acres of space.
Wales held out and were awarded a respite thanks to Sexton going off his feet at a ruck. The cruellest of blows then came for Ireland as some great rugby from the home side saw them launch an attack at the Irish line with Scott Williams scoring.
Ireland, now playing a faster game responded immediately and thanks to some very enterprising rugby from sub Eoin Reddan and Tommy Bowe set up camp in the opposition 22 once more but like earlier in the half could not finish with a try. Again they kept it tight with a massive overlap out wide. Cian Healy knocked on to let Wales off the hook.
Unsurprisingly Ireland came back again and once more attacked the Welsh line with Wayne Barnes awarding a penalty try after Wales infringed on an Irish maul that was destined to score. Sexton added the conversion to set up a grandstand finish.
Ireland once more laid siege to the Welsh line and with a try looking like coming, Jonathan Davies deliberately knocked on and Wales would play the final minutes with 14 men. Ireland now seven points down kicked to the corner for the lineout.
As Ireland edged towards the line it looked like Wales pulled the maul down but referee Barnes thought otherwise and Wales were awarded a scrum. After a huge effort it looked like a penalty was sure to be given to them but Barnes surprisingly gave the penalty to the home side and a classic, titanic game was over.
It was clear from early Ireland were not at their clinical best. Losing four of their own line outs is unheard of for this team and collectively they will know that they chose wrong options with the try line at their mercy on several occasions.
They are also still lacking a creative spark in midfield. Jared Payne carried well at times but still looks uncomfortable at international level at outside centre. Robbie Henshaw is more of a 13 than 12. Ian Madigan is a viable option at inside centre but Keith Earls and Luke Fitzgerald should come into contention for Payne’s position for the Scotland game.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Ireland as their best play came when Joe Schmidt emptied the bench with Reddan, Iain Henderson and Sean Cronin all very impressive and all three will be itching for a starting berth at Murrayfield.
Paul O’Connell was immense once more and even added several line breaks to his game. Jack McGrath and Mike Ross were dominant in the scrum for the majority of the time they were on the pitch but that particular set piece was refereed poorly.
Next up for O’Connell and his team is the trip to Murrayfield next Saturday. Ireland don’t have the best record in Edinburgh but you would expect a positive reaction after this defeat. The Grand Slam dream may be over for another year but the Six Nations title is still up for grabs.
