FLYING START
Ireland maintain winning momentum with merciless four-try thrashing of Wales
IRELAND made a Six Nations statement of intent with their dominant win against Wales at Aviva Stadium yesterday.
Andy Farrell’s side picked up where they left off last November, delivering the same high-tempo, all-court attacking game which laid waste to the All Blacks.
Bundee Aki’s first-half try and the boot of Johnny Sexton nudged the hosts into a 10-0 lead, but Ireland went up the gears after the break and blew the visitors off the park, with Andrew Conway bagging a brace and Garry Ringrose weaving his way through a tiring Welsh defence for the bonus point-clinching try.
Thoughts will quickly turn to Saturday’s Paris date with France, who entertain Italy at Stade de France this afternoon. Farrell and his players will
JURGEN Klopp would probably describe this as heavy metal rugby. There have been nights under the German’s watch when Anfield rocked to its very core as Liverpool blew visiting teams off the park with a furious tempo. There were parallels with events in Aviva Stadium yesterday. Ireland flew out of the blocks in fifth gear and laid waste to a poor Wales side.
You wondered if this Irish team could replicate the intensity they brought throughout that memorable autumn series when Japan, New Zealand and Argentina were overwhelmed by a frenzied attack. Well, they brought the same energy and verve yesterday.
It wasn’t all perfect. There were plenty of errors and inaccuracy. You are always going to get mistakes when you play the game at this pace. This isn’t a squad which plays it safe and plays the percentages any more.
Ireland are pass masters now. When they get it right, it is a sight to behold. It helps when you spend most of the contest going forward. The Welsh struggled to shut their opponents down at source; they simply had no answer to Ireland yesterday.
When you have props that can pass like Tadhg Furlong, backrowers that carry like Caelan Doris and an out-half with the vision of Johnny Sexton, you get rugby like this. It had the sell-out crowd on their feet all afternoon. It’s stirring stuff. Mack Hansen, so impressive on his debut, looks a decent addition as well.
There are greater challenges ahead, of course. The French in Paris next Saturday will be a serious acid test, and this squad have a meeting with England in Twickenham in round four. They will fear no one on this form, however.
This was Ireland’s ninth Test victory on the trot. The mood music is very positive. The key for this group now is translating it all into a palpable reward. They will play it down, but a first Six Nations title since 2018 must be the target.
Andy Farrell has a long way to go before he can emulate the feats of the Joe Schmidt era. Laden with trophies and landmark victories, at home and in far-flung destinations like Cape Town and Chicago, the New Zealander transformed Ireland into a global force. The 2015 and 2019 World Cup campaigns will haunt Schmidt, but they were blips in an otherwise brilliant coaching career as Ireland supremo.
The national team had a clear identity when Schmidt was at the helm. It wasn’t pretty, but it was pretty effective. It was brutally efficient, in fact.
Ireland owned the ball and rucked their opponents to death. It was a slow poison. And, crucially, it delivered three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam.
This Irish squad struggled for an identity throughout the first 18 months of Farell’s tenure.
November was a turning point. This is Ireland 2.0 under Farrell.
This version is sleeker, faster and a lot easier on the eye.
The defence was just as impressive. Some of it was borderline brutal at times. The discipline as well. Ireland didn’t concede their first penalty until the 48th minute. Even that was overturned when Josh Adams shoulder-charged Sexton off the ball.
What may worry Farrell in the post-match analysis is that his side only held a 10-point lead after a first half of such utter dominance. The hosts monopolised possession and territory. Time and again, they broke the Welsh defensive line, with Furlong, Doris and Garry Ringrose doing a lot of the damage.
One half-time stat told its own story: Ireland had made 543 metres with ball in hand. The visitors had mustered just 237.
The opening quarter was very much a continuation of what we witnessed in November. Ireland began at a furious pace. Hansen had made an early raid down the left touchline with his first touch in international rugby.
Connacht’s Canberra-born breakout star then turned provider when he floated a perfectly-weighted pass into the waiting arms of his provincial team-mate Bundee Aki, who strolled into the corner for the easiest of finishes. Sexton’s touchline conversion was on the money.
So was the rest of his attacking game for most of the half. The only blot on the Ireland captain’s copybook in the opening 40 minutes was a brace of missed penalties. He would nail his third to nudge his side into a 10-0 lead, but it should have been so much more.
There was so much to like about Ireland’s approach. There were brilliant pieces of handling from Furlong and Hugo Keenan, sharp running lines from Ringrose and Andrew Conway. It was relentless, but this Irish team were still struggling for the killer pass. There were plenty of errors. Understandable, given it was blowing a gale all after
noon. Jamison Gibson-Park’s service lacked its usual fluency.
All things considered, Wayne Pivac would have been quietly relieved at the break.
His team had been on the ropes. If there was any morsel of comfort for the Wales boss, it was that the hosts were not out of sight.
No matter, Ireland found their killer edge early in the second half. More front-foot ball allowed Sexton to find Conway with a probing, long pass and the Munster wing finished in the corner. The Ireland No10’s conversion from wide on the right sailed over the bar and Farrell’s side must have been thinking about racking up a big score here.
Then came a moment of madness from Adams. The Welsh centre was chasing a loose ball but then decided to barge Sexton.
The TMO and referee Jaco Peyper had a look and Adams was sent to the touchline for 10 minutes. It was an act of utter stupidity and the Cardiff back was lucky not to see red. Ireland immediately made the extra man count. It began with Josh van der Flier breaking the line thanks to a deft pass from Tadhg Beirne.
It ended a few phases later with Conway finishing in the same corner thanks to a floated pass from Gibson-Park.
It was all one-way traffic after that. Ringrose capped off a sparkling attack to weave his way over the line for the bonus point-clinching try as AC/DC began pumping around the stadium. This is heavy metal stuff, indeed.
IRELAND: H Keenan; A Conway (J Hume 64), G Ringrose, B Aki, M Hansen; J Sexton (capt) (J Carbery 64), J Gibson-Park (C Murray 70); A Porter (C Healy 66), R Kelleher (D Sheehan 61), T Furlong (F Bealham 53); T Beirne, J Ryan (R Baird 66); C Doris, J van der Flier, J Conan (P O’Mahony 53).
ScoRERS – tRIES: Aki, Conway (2), Ringrose. coNS: Sexton (3). pENS: Sexton.
WALES: L Williams; J McNicholl (O Watkin 64), J Adams, N Tompkins, L Rees-Zammit; D Biggar (capt) (C Sheedy 71), T Williams (G Davies 58); W Jones (G Thomas 53), R Elias (D Lake 53), T Francis (D Lewis 53); W Rowlands (B Carter 73), A Beard; E Jenkins (R Moriarty 53), T Basham, A Wainwright.
ScoRERS – tRy: Basham. coN: Sheedy. yELLoW cARD: Adams (48 mins).
REfEREE: Jaco Peyper (South Africa).