Ireland v Wales – First Day of the 6 Nations
Wales had to work desperately hard to win a vital away victory in the Dublin sun.
Who could say which of the two teams had suffered worse setbacks over the past couple of years? At all events, the two new coaches, Greg McWilliams and Ioan Cunningham, saw different routes forward.
With no World Cup in view for three years McWilliams opted for youth and rebuilding, no-one boasting more caps than Eimear Considine’s 24. Cunningham had plenty of old heads to show the way. Wales dominated possession in the early stages, but took an age to really light the fires. Elinor Snowsill made two costly misjudgements with the boot, failing to put a penalty into touch, then, inexplicably, choosing to place the next one high and deep into midfield.
It spelt trouble. Considine started the counter-attack; Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe finished it many passes later in the right corner, accepting a floated offering to outflank the defence. (7-0)
Wales had to wait a while till they could make their first mark on the game: Carys Phillips finished an efficient drive to the line. (7-5). Against every coach’s commandment they then let the Irish construct a really excellent counter-move, highlighted by Sam Monaghan’s outstanding off-load to Linda Djougang, who steamed over under the posts. Those two were the pick of the Irish eight on the day. (14-5)
The Irish had been far more effective getting over the gain-line, repossessing quickly and moving the ball enterprisingly for the backs – many from the Sevens squad – to display their skills. But no more scores came before the break.
Half-time: 14-5
Wales will be well pleased with their efforts over the last 40. Alisha Butchers was almost over soon after the restart. A moment later her team finally managed to put Jaz Joyce into space – admittedly only about two millimetres wide – but it was enough for her to get over the line for another extravagant try. (14-10)
A big tactical switch on 51 minutes saw Wales exert greater control. On came Sioned Harries at No 8 (the skipper moved into the second row), and the Welsh pack began to dominate affairs up front.
At once they thought they were over the line behind a destructive line-out, but Kat Roche and the TMO agreed there had been obstruction before the drive began.
Ireland responded by bringing Beibhinn Parsons on. Almost at once a lovely handling move saw Stacey Flood cross to stretch the lead. (19-10)
This was a setback for the visitors who had seen their efforts bearing fruit. It took another ten minutes for them to reduce the gap, Donna Rose making the final burst with the pack helping her over the line. (19-15) A single-score gap again, and the Welsh might have been on equal terms with better place-kicking.
A decisive moment came on 71 minutes: as the Welsh pack drove once more at the line, Considine was pinned underneath and saw yellow. Now the game had swung dramatically away from the hosts. Rose posted her second try after a series of drives and penalties. (19-22)
When Djougang was penalised for a (pretty inoffensive) high tackle on the Welsh 22, the visitors opted for a scrum, so confident were they in the muscle-department. A second scrum downfield saw Harries make a huge break. Fine handling gave Hannah Jones half a chance which she took thrillingly.
Result: Ireland 19 Wales 27
Player of the Match: Alisha Butchers
Teams
Ireland: 15 Considine, 14 Murphy Crowe, 13 Higgins, 12 Flood, 11 Mulhall, 10 Cronin, 9 Reilly; 1 Djougang, 2 N. Jones, 3 O’Dwyer, 4 Fryday (captain), 5 Monaghan, 6 Wall, 7 McMahon, 8 Hogan
Bench: 16 Hooban, 17 Pearse, 18 Haney 19 McGann, 20 O’Connor, 21 Dane, 22 Breen, 23 Parsons
Wales: 15 Powell, 14 Neumann, 13 H. Jones, 12 Lake, 11 Joyce, 10 Snowsill, 9 Bevan; 1 Pyrs, 2 Phillips, 3 Hale, 4 John, 5 Crabb, 6 Butchers, 7 Callender 8 Lillicrap (captain)
Bench: 16 K. Jones, 17 Hope, 18 Rose, 19 Harries, 20 B. Lewis, 21 F. Lewis, 22 Wilkins, 23 Tuipulotu
Referee: Kat Roche (USA)
ARs: Hollie Davidson (SRU) and Nikki O’Donnell (RFU)
Afterthoughts
The attendance was reported at around 6,100, an encouraging sign of the tournament’s growing popularity.
Both head coaches can take positives from the game. Ireland had an encouraging first half, moving the ball well and gaining territory with quick repossessions.
Wales will be delighted by an away win that helps to erase memories of last year’s harrowing 0-45 loss.
A few personnel changes may be on the cards for next week
