Ireland could be grand Gatland

IRELAND

THE scoreline might have been close but the generosity of Warren Gatland’s praise for Ireland was evidence Wales were outplayed at the Aviva Stadium.

The Wales coach saw his team outscored five tries to three in Dublin and the hosts would have won by more had Johnny Sexton brought his kicking boots.

Ireland are now the only team who can secure a Six Nations Grand Slam, after England’s Calcutta Cup defeat by Scotland. And Gatland, below, believes a clean sweep for Joe Schmidt’s men could be on the cards.

“They are hard to break down,” he said. “They are not flashy or anything like that but they are clinical in how accurate they are.

“Ireland keep the ball for lots of phases and when they get into your 22, they normally come away with points. The disappointing thing is that the things we worked on during the week came back to haunt us.”

Jacob Stockdale scored twice for Ireland, while Bundee Aki, Dan Leavy and Cian Healy also crossed to record a bonus-point win.

Wales scored through Gareth Davies, Aaron Shingler and Steffan Evans but were bossed at the contact area by Ireland’s forwards.

George North did provide an impressive cameo off the bench and has surely earned back a starting spot. “I thought he looked really dangerous and it was good to see him back on the field,” said Gatland.

Wales can no longer win the competition as they prepare to host Italy and then France.

Ireland have tough games with Scotland and England to come, but they are in fine form and will take some beating. Their trip to Twickenham is likely to decide the tournament.

“We have shown we are adaptable,” said Ireland skipper Rory Best. “Our young guys don’t have the stigma of losing and it’s very exciting.”