Lowe debut try as Ireland pile misery on Wales
The blood flowing from the head of Wales replacement Jake Ball in the dying moments of his side’s loss against Ireland showed the attritional nature of the opening fixture of the Autumn Nations Cup.
Ireland, despite winning relatively comfortably, and in doing so condemning the Welsh to a sixth loss in a row, will be anxious ahead of their trip to Twickenham next week, as fly-halves Jonathan Sexton and debutant replacement Billy Burns hobbled off.
The rugby rivalry between Ireland and Wales may not have the same historic significance with fans as these Celtic cousins hold with the English. But in recent years, perhaps due to the familiarity developed between players from playing week in week out against each other for their provinces and regions in the Pro14, and both sides’ success in the Six Nations over the past decade, a fiery on-field competition has been created on the field.
The Welsh seemed to be bristling with frustration from the early minutes of the game, perhaps as they were on a losing streak of five games in a row. As a result of this tension – tempers flared and two episodes of handbags broke out.
As well as sharing this fierce rivalry – both sides share the spectre of the coaches who led them to their recent glory years: Joe Schmidt and Warren Gatland. The pressure is less on Ireland head coach Andy Farrell having taken his side to the final round of his maiden Six Nations at the helm with a chance of winning the title.
However, the glare of fan and media criticism is much more sharp on opposite number Wayne Pivac as his Weales side finished fifth in his first Six Nations after the side under Gatland won in 2019.
From the outset, Ireland edged ahead due to superiority at the setpiece, particularly the scrum. Wales loosehead Rhys Carre struggled in his battle with Irish tighthead Andrew Porter.
While the Irish rugby public are still somewhat unclear as to what Farrell’s brand of rugby will look like – his selection of new caps seems to be justified. Leinster and former New Zealand Maori wing James Lowe, who qualified via residency, was industrious in the first half and perhaps was at ease due to his working relationship at provincial level with Sexton.
This early missed opportunity seemed to ease Ireland’s nerves and they started to play with more composure. Peter O’mahony, having been on the bench for their two rescheduled Six Nations fixtures, put in a gritty performance in the first half which was reminiscent of his form before he was selected for the 2017 Lions Tour to New Zealand.
Sexton, reliable as ever from the kicking tee, edged Ireland ahead before second row Quin Roux crashed over for a try. Wales kept in the game via two penalties from the boot of Leigh Halfpenny.
There was worry for the Irish when Sexton limped off with a hamstring injury at the half-hour mark with former England Under-20 cap Burns making his Ireland debut. The 26-year-old younger brother of Freddie qualifies f or I reland through his paternal Cork-born grandfather. Burns showed the experience he has gained at Ulster nailing a kick to leave Ireland leading 16-6 going into the interval.
Wales revived in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, making more carries than they had in the
first half. Ireland’s discipline waned, as did their performance at the breakdown. As a result, Halfpenny was able to narrow the gap to seven points just before the 50-minute mark having earlier missed another penalty kick.
Ireland had conceded five penalties by 57 minutes but were let off as
Halfpenny missed. A flurry of substitutions for both sides included George North coming on exactly 10 years to the day since he made his Test debut against South Africa at the Principality Stadium. The 28-yearold replaced centre Jonathan Davies – another injury concern.
The Welsh scrum seemed more robust with the change of their front row, with Samson Lee putting in a commanding performance to give the visitors a platform that they did not have earlier on. Unlike the first half, Lowe was unable to get into the game.
Burns’ debut came to a premature end at 64 minutes with scrum-half Conor Murray coming off the bench
and filling in as a makeshift fly-half. Murray’s first act was to slot a penalty to take Ireland 10 points ahead, which was cheered on by his longterm half-back partner Sexton on the sidelines. It was a mark of Murray’s famed calm nature that the Irish backline continued to function well in the closing passages of play and the Munster man knocked over another penalty.
Ireland’s composure and determination was rewarded in the dying moments as Lowe scored with the final play of the game thanks to excellent work from man of the match, back row Caelan Doris.