Hosts on course for back-to-back Six Nations titles with bonus point wins
IRELAND kept their quest for back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slam titles on course by brushing aside spirited Wales with a dominant 31-7 win in Dublin.
Andy Farrell’s men secured crushing victories France And Italy with a third consecutive bonus point win to keep themselves in pole position for the rest of the way championship glory.
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First-half tries from Dan Sheehan and James Lowe paved the way for the reigning champions’ equalizer England‘s tournament record of 11 straight wins.
Wales avoided embarrassment at the Aviva Stadium and briefly threatened an unlikely fightback thanks to a second-half spell that saw a penalty and a yellow card for Tadhg Beirne.
But a first Test try for stand-in Irish full-back Ciaran Frawley broke their resolve before Beirne atoned for his earlier mistake by securing the bonus point at the death on an afternoon when impeccable fly-half Jack Crowley scored 11 points.
Ireland’s ominous march towards a clean sweep continues next one month against England and Scotlandwhile winless Wales host France in the fourth round, ahead of a possible wooden spoon shoot-out with Italy.
A largely inexperienced Wales team crossed the Irish Sea as overwhelming underdogs after narrow defeats at the hands of the Scots and Steve Borthwick.
Visiting head coach Warren Gatland insisted he was traveling with faith rather than hope, urging his players to make “everything uncomfortable” for their desired hosts.
Wales’ bid for disruption began with colossal defending as the home side’s early dominance was initially only rewarded by a long-range penalty from Crowley.
Yet Ireland’s well-oiled machine persevered in wave after wave of attack to break the stubborn resistance and take control of the scoreboard.
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Hooker Sheehan crossed at the end of a lineout maul in the 21st minute to claim his fourth try of the tournament before Calvin Nash later set up Lowe to touch down in the left corner.
Wales were finally able to enjoy a few trips to Ireland’s 22 just before half-time.
But Sam Costelow’s decision to kick a penalty into the corner went nowhere, while a couple of costly tries saw them go into half-time scoreless for a third game after the rebound, trailing 17–0.
Any fears Wales might have had about joining Italy and being drawn to zero in Dublin were extinguished within three minutes of the restart when Tomos Williams’ quick tap penalty led to a momentum shift.
Italian referee Andrea Piardi awarded a penalty try after a long time judgement of a collapsed maul on the Irish line, with Beirne sent to the sin bin for illegally changing his binding.
An excited Wales were clearly on the rise at that stage but failed to make further progress on the scoreboard in Beirne’s absence before Ireland restored order.
After bulldozer Bundee Aki were denied a try-on review due to Robbie Henshaw’s punch, Frawley, replacing the injured Hugo Keenan, happily dived under the posts to celebrate his first Test start in style.
Wales came close to a consolation score in the closing minutes, with Irish replacement James Ryan sent to the sin bin.
But with Beirne’s late finish adding to their woes, they ultimately slumped to a tenth defeat from their last eleven Six Nations matches as the wait for a first Championship victory in Dublin since 2012 continued.
You can follow how the action went in our live blog below…
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Farrell is looking forward to the next challenge
Ireland travel to Twickenham to take on England in their next match.
This will undoubtedly be their toughest test to see if they can seal a Grand Slam.
There is nothing Andy Farrell would like more than to go to England headquarters and achieve a huge victory.
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Wales turn up but fall short
You can’t fault the efforts of the Welsh players today and they gave it their all for the full 80 minutes.
The crucial moment was the yellow card, they failed to make their man advantage count in that phase.
Once Ireland were back at full strength, they put their foot on the accelerator and enforced their dominance.
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Irish turn Aviva Stadium into a fortress
No party is interested in a trip to Dublin at the moment.
Ireland made it 18 consecutive Test wins at the Aviva Stadium with their 31-7 victory over Wales.
It would be difficult to see anyone stopping the men in green from achieving a Grand Slam this season.
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Credit: AP
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FT: Ireland 31-7 Wales
Ireland have recorded eleven consecutive Six Nations victories.
With today’s victory they have equaled England’s record.
Andy Farrell’s side led from start to finish and fully deserved this comfortable score.
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FT: Ireland 31-7 Wales
It’s all too easy when Beirne ghosts through the middle to score.
Crowley adds the conversion to make it the perfect end to the game for the Irish.
Another comfortable victory for Andy Farrell’s side.
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Try – Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
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Ireland 24-7 Wales
80+1. Ireland is not giving up on this effort.
They continue to work through the phases deep into the red zone.
Wales tries to hold on and prevent another score.
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Ireland 24-7 Wales
79. Ireland are awarded a penalty on the halfway line.
It gives them a chance to kick for a touch and think about a fourth attempt.
Bundee Aki receives the player of the match award.
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Credit: Sportsfile -
Ireland 24-7 Wales
77. Wainright tries to cross the try line but is held up.
Huge celebrations from the Irish defense as they now get the chance to play freely.
Wales really should have worked more with the man advantage there.
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Yellow card – James Ryan (Ireland)
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Ireland 24-7 Wales
73. Ireland knocked on and gave Wales the ball on the halfway line.
Dyer is doing well in that game, he had a good game today.
Wales are once again putting pressure on the Irish line.
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Ireland 24-7 Wales
71. With the game in the bag, Farrell makes the changes.
Moments after that Welsh try we seemed to have a match again.
That attempt all but confirms another home test victory for the men in green.
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Ireland 24-7 Wales
69. Ireland get the try as Frawley runs across the line unopposed.
Wales just didn’t have the numbers there to keep them out.
Crowley makes no mistake in forwarding the conversion.
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Try – Ciaran Frawley (Ireland)
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Ireland 17-7 Wales
67. Kieran Hardy comes on for Wales at scrum half.
Ireland is moving to the Welsh line again.
There are now places available here for the hosts.
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Ireland 17-7 Wales
65. A great kick downfield by Crowley, which bounces once before coming into contact deep in Welsh territory.
Wales win the lineout and try to play their way out of trouble.
They choose to kick the ball to clear their lines.
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Ireland 17-7 Wales
63. Ireland knocks on the door as Nash rushes in.
A loose pass is intercepted by Wales and they are able to kick into the field.
Dyer chases the ball well and gets a good tackle on Lowe.
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Credit: AP -
Ireland 17-7 Wales
61. Wales are frustrated as they feel there was a forward pass in the build-up to the try.
TMO is looking into this.
There may also have been a blow.
As a result, the try is disallowed and it is Welsh ball.
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Try – Bundee Aki (Ireland)
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Ireland 17-7 Wales
59. Ireland come onto the pitch and want to apply some pressure.
Now that the sides are equal in numbers, they seem to be returning to their normal play.
Lowe breaks the tackle and finds Gibson-Park, yards in front of the Welsh line.
The visitors have a hard time keeping them out of here.
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Ireland 17-7 Wales
57. Wales is progressing through the stages but struggling to make any progress.
Ireland are awarded a penalty while the defense celebrates.
Gatland will be disappointed that they couldn’t find an opening there.
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Ireland 17-7 Wales
55. Beirne is now active again for the Irish.
The Welsh attack fails as Ireland turns the ball over.
Gibson-Park kicks for touch, but Wales get a lineout on the hosts’ twenty-two.
Rowlands and Martin come on for Wales.
Jager also comes by for his first Irish cap.
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Ireland 17-7 Wales
53. This is a very different Wales we see now.
Within a few minutes they have gone 60 meters further.
Tomkins attempts a kick across the field but it is deflected and Ireland come together again, so the referee brings the kick back for a Welsh penalty.
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Ireland 17-7 Wales
51. van der Flier goes out for a main assessment.
Conan comes to replace him.
Lewis comes to Wales to freshen things up and replaces Assiratti.
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Ireland 17-7 Wales
49. Wales looked to take advantage of the gaps that opened up but the ball was attacked as they looked for quick offloads.
Winnett brilliantly sets Lowe aside on that attack, coming into this game more in this half.
McCarthy breaks through the challenges and puts Ireland back in the spotlight.
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Credit: PA
