Six Nations Review - Wales 22 v 30 Ireland

 

If I was sat in the south stand at the Millennium stadium yesterday, I would have been seriously annoyed.  I would have wanted my money back.  About 80% of the opening Six Nations clash took place in and around the 22metre line of the side defending the line in front of the Northern stand and unless you had the type of binoculars typically seen in the royal box at the opera, you were probably scratching your head at what on earth was going on.  None of it seemed to make such sense.  There are matches when the old adage “It’s a game of two halves” applies, and then there was this.  I can’t think of another game I’ve witnessed in which each side displayed such an utter dominance for 40 minutes each – it wouldn’t have surprised me if, after the first half, it transpired that the Irish and Welsh had prematurely swapped shirts at half-time.

The first half started fairly innocuously, with the sides feeling each other up like a couple of hormonal 14 year olds behind the school bike shed, but soon the Irish began to dominate the contact area.  Heaslip, O’Brien and Healy all made telling carries following an encouraging burst by you Craig Gilroy, a six nations debutant for Ireland on the right wing.  However it was the other Six Nations debutant, Simon Zebo, who was the beneficiary of Ireland’s early pressure and yet another moment of genius from Brian O’Driscoll to add to countless other moments he has provided.  With the Welsh scrum creaking, Ireland secured clean ball and on third phase ball, the Irish magician faded outside a sluggish Jonathan Davies before drawing in Leigh Halfpenny and an indecisive Alex Cuthbert to pop a perfectly weighted pass into the hands of the onrushing Zebo who skated around under the posts.

From the restart, the men in green took the ball straight back into Welsh territory, forcing Halfpenny into a try saving tackle on Gilroy in the corner, but an infringement at the breakdown gave Sexton the chance to add three points, which he duly took to give the Irish an 10 point lead.

It was all getting fairly predictable.  Wales would kick off, Ireland would kick it back, Wales would get turned over and find themselves with their backs to the wall again.  In a frantic attempt to clear the ball, the otherwise solid Dan Biggar was charged down by the on-rushing Best, who gathered it with his fingertips before feeding Heaslip.  Then followed a piece of footballing genius which most props would argue has no place on a rugby pitch, whilst the rest of us were left gawping at our screens.  Offloading from Davies’ tackle, Heaslip popped the ball behind Zebo who, at full tilt, pulled off the ‘rainbow flick’, backheel-volleying the pill into his hands to get within 2 metres of the line.  Healy took advantage of the backpeddling defence to power his way through Mike Phillips’ tackle to touch down for Ireland’s second try, with Sexton converting once again.

The first half continued in much the same vein, with Wales unable to get out of their half.  In the brief moments when the Welsh had the ball, they threw it away – literally, in the case of Jonathan Davies, who lobbed the ball straight into touch at least 2 metres behind his support runner not just once, but twice.  Phillips was penalised at the breakdown again, giving the Irish a 20 point lead before Halfpenny and Sexton traded penalties, leaving the score at 23-3 at half-time – the Welsh look relieved just to get off the park with something on the score-board.

After the interval it briefly looked like it was going to be more of the same, and the South stand got just about their only entertainment of the day.  Sexton nearly put Kearney away for a try but the Leinster full back was held up just short.  Instead, it was (who else) his club teammate O’Driscoll who burrowed over the 2 metre range he seems bizarrely effective from.  Sexton converted, and then something strange happened.

 Whether the Welsh finally thought they should probably start playing or the Irish switched off (which would have been understandable at 30-3 up), or possibly a bit of both, the Welsh started dominating the contact and possession and Ireland couldn’t get out of their half.  It may also have something to do with the introduction of Justin Tipuric and all of a sudden Wales had 2 scavengers on the floor, denying the Irish any sort of foot hold on the ball.

The comeback started with Faletau, Coombs and Warburton making yards in the midfield, with the big number 8 coming close before Wales executed a simple backs move with Cuthbert gliding through a gap the size of Sam Warburton’s chin to give the Welsh their first try to the left of the sticks.  Ten minutes later, following a yellow card to Rory Best for hands in the ruck, the Welsh were doing it again, this time passing it wide to the right and despite some hesitancy from Davies, Halfpenny finished well under pressure from Zebo and Heaslip.  Although Halfpenny missed the conversion, Wales had halved their deficit in just 10 minutes.

The Irish then upped their defensive work, with Sean O’Brien topping the tackling charts but backed up by the workhorses in the second row in the form of McCarthy and Ryan, and the Welsh just couldn’t drag themselves over the line.  In the backs, Ireland were flying out of the blocks like a Jamaican sprinter on chicken nuggets, with O’Driscoll rattling ribcages more than once and even Gilroy hurtling his comparatively tiny frame into anything in red.  The Welsh pressure though, was relentless. Connor Murray became the second man to be sent to the bin, after Cuthbert had butchered a clear 2-on-1, Wales got themselves within 2 scores in the unlikely, and rather large, shape of substitute prop Craig Mitchell.

Unfortunately for the Welsh, it was too little, too late, and this Jekyll and Hyde of a match finished without a further score – leaving it 30 -22 to the Irish.

 

Wales Player Ratings

Jenkins – 6 – Eventually gained parity in the scrum after an iffy start.  Put in a good shift but couldn’t get involved as much as possible.

Rees – 5 – Put himself about was too often knocked backwards in contact.  Lineout was also a bit wobbly.
Jones – 5 – Performed admirably to turn the scrum around but was almost invisible for the rest of the game, which is quite a feat when you look like Jones does.
Coombs – 8 – A really impressive debut.  Worked harder than anyone in terms of getting his hands on the ball and trying to encourage go forward.
Evans – 6 – Solid in the tight exchanges and put himself about in defence but there was little contribution with ball in hand.
Shingler – 6 – Tried manfully to get Wales back into the  game in the first half but coudn’t make inroads in the Irish defence.
Warburton – 6 – Not as successful at the breakdown as he would have liked but aggressive on the carry when Wales started to come back.
Faletau – 7 – Came to the fore in the second half with a couple of trucking runs, nearly scoring a try by the base of the post in the process.
Phillips – 6 – Despite some dodgy decision making, a solid enough performance with decent service and the odd snipe, but with little joy.  Nearly took a point off for his hilarious tantrum when he was called back after trying to take a quick tap.
Biggar – 7 – Distributed well enough and tried to bring the men outside him into the game, but occasionally not quite clinical enough.
North – 6 – A couple of noticeable bursts but then far too quiet for the rest of the game.  Did well to keep his eye on Gilroy though.
Roberts – 5 – Made yards on the charge but didn’t get the ball at pace nearly enough times to make the impact he’s capable of.
Davies – 3 – His worst game in a Welsh shirt.  Half at fault for the first try, his passing was wayward to put it kindly and seemed to dither with the ball in hand.
Cuthbert – 5 – Took his try well with a nice line but lost marks for a several instances of poor defence and butchering a clear 2 on 1 in the second half.
Halfpenny – 7 – Rock solid at the back and with the boot as always.  Try was very well taken.

Subs used

Owens – 5 – Lineout didn’t sure up as hoped but contributed in the loose.

James – 5 – Scrum gained parity to his credit but little impact elsewhere.
Mitchell – 6 – Took his try well and seemed delighted with it, but little time to show his other qualities.
Kohn – Not enough time to make an impact
Tipuric – 7 – Upped the tempo when he came on with some great support work.  Must be demanding a starting spot next week.
L Williams – 6 – Slick service aided the Welsh recovery but couldn’t provide a threat himself.
Hook – Not enough time to make an impact

Ireland Player Ratings

Healy – 8 – Well  taken try and some huge carries to go with it in the first period.  Was a rock defensively in the second half as well.

Best – 6 – Started well enough with a good steal and good showings in the loose, but faded as the lineout faltered and ended with a yellow card to his name.
Ross – 5 – Started impressively in the scrum but ended up on the back foot.  Needs to contribute more with the ball in hand.
McCarthy – 8 – A  huge shift from the second row, coming a close second in the tackling charts for Ireland and getting around the park with surprising speed.
Ryan – 8 – Like his second row partner, tackled himself to a standstill with some huge hits, making 3^rd most tackles for the Irish.  Now an essential cog of the Irish pack.
O’Mahony – 5 – Struggled to impose himself on the game but a couple of decent runs in the first half.
O’Brien – 7 – Topped the tackle count and showed his strength in contact on several occasions but needs to make sure he remains disciplined
Heaslip – 7 – Worked tirelessly and was a cool head when panic might otherwise have set in.  Will not enjoy being bounced off by Faletau and Roberts though
Murray – 6 – Sharp service helped Ireland’s cause early on but didn’t really threaten himself.
Sexton – 7 – Attacked well in the first half and defended as required in the second after receiving no ball.  Kicking off the tee was impressive again.
Zebo – 8 – Well taken try and an outrageous piece of skill to help set up the second.  Normally, attempts at being a footballer are frowned upon but this was genuine class.  Needs to work on his defensive positioning though.
D’Arcy – 6 – Aggressive defensively and carried well enough without making any significant inroads.
O’Driscoll – 9 – Magnificent.  Like a good Irish whisky, just gets better with age.  Well taken try and superb vision and hands to set up Zebo’s too.  Smashed Welsh attacks time and time again in the second half. Man of the Match
Gilroy – 7 – Seemed to enjoy his first full 6 nations debut.  A couple of good runs and aggressive hits showed he is up for the fight, but needs to make sure that he doesn’t get caught out positionally by kicks.
Kearney – 6 – Struggled to make the impact he would have wanted but solid under the high ball and always looking to provide an option in attack.

Subs used

Kilcoyne – Not enough time to make an impact

Fitzpatrick – Not enough time to make an impact

Henry – 6 – Couldn’t stem the red flood in the second half by pinching ball but hit tackle after tackle.

Reddan – Not enough time to make an impact

Earls – 5 – No chance to impress with the ball in hand but contributed to the superb defensive effort.