A International - Ireland Wolfhounds 34 Scotland 'A' 19:The newly-named Ireland Wolfhounds, previously known as Ireland 'A', were made to work for their impressive 34-19 win over their Scottish counterparts at Ravenhill this evening.
The victory was secured after the home side ran in five tries with early scores coming from captain Chris Henry while Fergus McFadden scored two tries.
With Ulster’s Ian Humphreys all too familiar with the nuances of the Belfast venue he made all three kicks between the posts to give the Wolfhounds a 17-0 lead at the break.
All night Henry led by example and was duly named man-of-the-match.
On the down side Devin Toner was sin-binned after the restart, which allowed Scotland to get back into the contest.
The visitors upped the ante with three tries, one each from James Eddie and Mark Robertson plus a penalty try. However, further tries from Isaac Boss and Johne Murphy ensured the victory for Michael Bradley’s side.
Room for improvement despite rout
Under-20 Six Nations - Ireland 39 Italy 0:Ireland's Under-20 side ran riot in their opening game of the Six Nations against Italy - running in no less than six tries without reply - yet they will still feel there is room for improvement.
There is no doubt Allen Clarke’s will face stiffer opposition in the coming weeks but tonight the home side were able to enjoy a 39-0 whitewash at Dubarry Park in Athlone.
Ireland led 13-0 at the break but truth be told they might have been out of sight by then had they taken their chances.
Darren Hudson was the primary instigator with three tries, while Nevin Spence, Simon Zebo and Brendan Macken all weighed-in with tries.
James McKinney was on kicking duty, and though he wasn’t in top form, he was still able to convert a couple of the tries plus a penalty.
Irish women off to winning start
Women’s Six Nations - Ireland 22 Italy 5: The Ireland women’s Six Nations team got the weekend off to a fine start after their 22-2 win over Italy in Ashbourne this evening.
Kevin West’s side worked hard but were worthy winners with Joy Neville coming in for two of Ireland’s tries and Alison Miller getting over the whitewash for the third.
Niamh Briggs was equally adept with the boot as she converted twice plus added a fine drop goal in the first quarter from just inside the Italian 22.
Italy replacement Silvia Peron scored a late try for the visitors but it was of little consolation as Ireland comfortably took the spoils.