Ireland 27 Wales 12.At the very least the Triple Crown is still there for the taking after Ireland made relatively light work of a depleted Wales side at Croke Park this afternoon, running in three tries to none. Keith Earls added another two to his CV, while the man with a point to prove, Tomás O'Leary, played a key role in both and touched down himself.
Earls ran in his second Six Nations try first after a quick tap from O'Leary and well-timed offload by Brian O'Driscoll, before the scrumhal pilfered a second late in the first half when he exposed a gaping hole in the Welsh defence and rounded Liegh Halfpenny.
The nail in the coffin came when O'Leary gathered from O'Driscoll on the hour and scampered un behind the Welsh midfield and into the 22 before finding the onrushing Earls to score in the corner.
Jonathan Sexton misfired with all three conversions but landed three out of four penalties and added a late drop goal to keep Wales out of reach. His opposite number Stephen Jones booted four penalties, but Wales once again paid a huge price for poor discipline.
On the occasion of his 100th cap, Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll was typically influential, playing a part in both of Earls's tries and consistently getting tackles in first, most notably on the giant Jamie Roberts, with whom he enjoyed a titanic battle.
The result ensures Ireland will have a Triple Crown to play for in their final game at Croke Park against Scotland next week. Wales now find themselves in the wooden spoon mix alongside Scotland and Italy heading into next weekend’s final round of fixtures following three defeats from four starts.
At Twickenham it was lock Alun-Wyn Jones who cost his team dear with a silly sin-binning, this time fullback Lee Byrne’s technical infringement opened the door for an Irish side that needed no second invitation.
Ireland were unchanged from the side that beat England at Twickenham last time out.
Wales lost skipper Ryan Jones to a calf muscle injury, so Gloucester’s Gareth Delve deputised at number eight with flanker Martyn Williams taking over as captain.
It was Williams’ 95th cap, breaking Colin Charvis’ appearance record for a Wales forward, while hooker Matthew Rees made his first start of the championship and lock Luke Charteris gained a recall alongside second-row partner Bradley Davies.
O’Driscoll - the second Irish player to reach 100 caps after his team-mate John Hayes - inevitably received a rapturous reception as he led Ireland out.
But his team struggled to make early headway, despite flanker David Wallace and lock Paul O’Connell featuring as prominent ball carriers.
Sexton missed a long-range penalty chance and there was more composure about Wales as Jones booted them into a 10th-minute lead before failing to find the target from much longer distance.
The sparring continued during a muted opening quarter, although Ireland offered a flash of their attacking prowess when Bowe glided through a midfield gap.
And that was the cue for Wales to reach for a self-destruct button they had found far too readily in this season’s championship.
Byrne was sin-binned for killing the ball just three minutes after a second Sexton penalty, and Ireland immediately made their temporary numerical advantage count.
The home side saw centre Gordon D’Arcy limp off but Earls - moved from wing to centre as Rob Kearney replaced D’Arcy - struck through a well-worked try.
A slick O’Driscoll pass gave him all the room he needed to manoeuvre himself outside Charteris’ despairing lunge for a score that settled Irish nerves.
Although Sexton missed a simple conversion, Ireland were rapidly back on the attack, and with Byrne still watching from the sidelines, they struck another telling blow.
This time it was O’Connell who emerged with possession and he sent O’Leary sprinting through a disorganised Welsh defence and through the tackle of Halfpenny.
The visitors’ worst fears had been realised through another miserable first-half performance, their fifth in succession, including this season’s autumn Test series finale against Australia.
A second Jones penalty halted Ireland’s scoring blitz, but Wales had once again given themselves a mountain to climb.
It was a depressing scenario for their suffering supporters, although there was immediate hope when Wales started the second period by camping inside Ireland’s 22.
Wales opted to use their scrum as an attacking weapon as they exerted pressure, yet Ireland thwarted Welsh ambitions by clearing the danger and then stormed upfield while O’Driscoll received treatment following a heavy collision.
Sexton’s third successful penalty, awarded after Byrne deliberately ran the ball into touch, stretched Ireland’s advantage to 13 points, before Earls’s second try finished Wales off.
Wales boss Warren Gatland made five substitutions between the 57th and 67th minutes, but it made little difference to the overall picture as Ireland closed out a relatively comfortable afternoon’s work through an effortless Sexton drop-goal.