Six epic encounters on Irish soil
1914 Ireland 3 Wales 11
Wales were gathering a mighty team before World War 1 intervened and nearly wrestled a Grand Slam off one of England’s strongest ever teams and the mainstay of the side was a no-nonsense mean machine pack that fought its opponents into submission. Step forward the so-called ‘Terrible Eight’ – Jack Jones, Harry Uzzell, Percy Jones, the Rev Alban Davies who skippered the side, John Williams, David Watts, Thomas Lloyd and Edgar Morgan. Their reputation went before them and the verbals famously started the night before when the two teams found themselves attending a show at the same theatre. The Irish were spoiling for a fight but on this occasion got battered from pillar to post, conceding three tries to nil and losing 11-3.
1948 Ireland 6 Wales 3
Arguably still the most historic day in Irish Rugby history as Karl Mullen’s team completed a first ever Grand Slam for the men in green although the term didn’t exist back then, clean sweep being the expression de jour. It was touch and go in front of a capacity crowd at Ravenhill with Mullen himself scoring Ireland’s opening try only for Bleddyn Williams to reply. After the break came the decisive moment with Wales full-back Frank Trott fumbling a high ball and John ‘Jack’ Daly gathering the ball and forcing his way over the line despite the attention of three or four Welsh defenders. Daly was well used to carrying heavy loads having worked as a telephone lineman for the British Army lugging equipment around various theatres of war.
1978 Ireland 16 Wales 20
Most of the golden era of Welsh rugby cite this as their hardest physical match in a season when they had to scrap all the way to pull of their third Grand Slam of the decade. Some of the biggest names were running on empty – Gareth Edwards, Phil Bennett and Gerald Davies had all decided to retire two weeks later after the France game and although they knew they could make one last big effort in Paris could they raise a head of steam in Dublin? It was a close run thing with the rugged Irish pack poised to overwhelm the Welsh at times but somehow they dug out a win with tries from Steve Fenwick and JJ Williams and four penalties for the reliable Fenwick. Skipper Bennett said he could scarcely walk for a week he was so bruised afterwards.
2002 Ireland 54 Wales 10
Graham Henry had done much to rehabilitate Welsh rugby, especially in the build up to RWC1999 which included a run of ten wins, but this was the match when, already by his own admission exhausted after the Lions tour to Australia the previous summer, he ran out of steam and his team with him. Wales were steam-rollered by an Ireland side that responded well to new coach Eddie O’Sullivan, scoring six tries and squandering nearly as many. David Humphreys, right, also weighed in with six penalties. Afterwards Henry spoke defiantly about soldiering on but he was gone within days, his assistant Steve Hansen taking over. High flying Ireland meanwhile fell to earth with a shattering 45-11 defeat against England in their next game – winners by 44 points one week, losers by 44 the next.
2006 Ireland 31 Wales 5
A fair degree of hubris in Dublin where Wales were taken to the cleaners up front less than a year after they had won the Grand Slam in such style against Ireland in Cardiff. Mike Ruddock had received an OBE in the New Year’s Honours list for that but barely six weeks later was gone, the victim it would seem of player power with many in the Wales squad wanting skills coach Scott Johnson to take over. Johnson was indeed appointed but the team that appeared so confident and well coached in 2005 looked a leaderless, rudderless crew as Wales headed for some tough times. Ireland won at their leisure on this occasion with tries from Shane Horgan, Richard Wallace and Peter Stringer with the boot of Ronan O’Gara doing the rest.
2012 Ireland 21 Wales 23
Plenty of feeling in this match after Mike Phillips’ controversial try had seen Wales prevail in 2011 while the two side’s had also clashed in the RWC2011 quarter-final in Wellington. Both sides adopted an attacking approach but Wales’ muchvaunted fitness saw them come from behind in a see-saw game that Ireland seemed to have won. Despite an early Jonathan Davies try for Wales, Ireland turned things around with tries from Rory Best and Tommy Bowe but Davies struck again for Wales before the boot of Johnny Sexton saw Ireland lead 21-15 with five minutes left. At which point George North struck for a cracking try which Leigh Halfpenny couldn’t convert. One minute left and Stephen Ferris was carded for an illegal tackle and Halfpenny made amends by burying the kick.