IRELAND’S MEAN, GREEN MACHINE JUST
IRELAND 37 WALES 27
Ireland stormed Natwest Six Nations victory by dismissing Wales in Dublin.
Jacob Stockdale bagged a brace, with Bundee Aki, Dan Leavy and Cian Healy all crossing, too, as Ireland racked up a bonus-point victory to stun Warren Gatland’s Wales.
Peerless scrum-half Conor Murray’s sterling service greased the gears on Ireland’s smooth operation, with Joe Schmidt’s men even shrugging off Johnny Sexton unusually missing 10 points with the boot.
Despite dominating for large swathes, Ireland only ended up winning the day thanks to Murray’s late penalty goal and a last-gasp intercept score for Stockdale.
Half-back Davies, Aaron Shingler and Steff Evans grabbed tries for Wales, but the visitors were outmuscled and outclassed, eventually.
The scoreline failed to reflect Ireland’s supremacy.
Ireland raced out of the blocks, but Wales grabbed almost all the early advantage.
Halfpenny posted a tough penalty just two minutes in when Aki played the ball offside from an Earls knock on.
The hosts subsequently bossed the first quarter, but Sexton missed three shots at goal.
Those missed points hurt Ireland, despite Stockdale finishing well from Sexton’s smart cut-pass.
Davies sniped home for a Wales