The brilliant sunshine at Lansdowne Road provided an appropriate backdrop to yesterday's schools' international which produced sparkling fare. The willingness of both teams to keep the ball in hand ensured a high tempo to the proceedings and there were thrills and spills aplenty to keep the 1,200 crowd on tenterhooks.
The final scoreline flattered Ireland somewhat, their emphatic dominance of the first half replaced by a sustained rearguard action for the second 35 minutes. Their line enjoyed a charmed existence at times and Wales will rue several costly handling errors in the shadow of the Irish posts. The visitors produced some excellent back play and their ability to outflank the Irish defence with crisp passing and intelligent angles should have been better rewarded.
Centre and captain Duncan Murray proved a powerful ball carrier, while right wing Thomas Coles offered glimpses of searing pace that never quite produced the definitive break.
It was Wales' pursuit of the open spaces that had the Irish three-quarter line defence struggling to cope. The exemplary defensive qualities of full back Dermot O'Riordan and the lung-bursting coverage of the back row en masse helped to shore up several holes.
In mitigation, Ireland rode their good fortune and finished the match the stronger, illustrated by replacement outhalf Michael Rainey's try on 66 minutes. Excellent centre Martin McPhail manufactured his umpteenth half-break, Gavin Duffy took the ball into the Welsh 22 and the captain offloaded intelligently in the tackle to allow Rainey to saunter over. The RBAI boy failed with the conversion.
Although he did well, Rainey's introduction was something of a surprise given the performance of DLS Churchtown's Eoghan Hickey for the 40 minutes in which he played. His distribution was clinical, his ability to beat the tackler pronounced and his line-kicking prodigious. Similarly, his half-back partner Frank Murphy enjoyed a fine afternoon until replaced by a lively Fiach O'Loughlin.
Ireland's victory was established on the dominance of a hard working pack in the loose. The facility to repeatedly pick and drive through the heart of the Welsh pack yielded huge dividends in terms of yardage and no one carried the ball to greater effect than Blackrock second row Michael Carroll. Fellow second row Stephen Keogh worked equally hard, while the entire front row underlined their mobility and strength at ruck and maul.
The back row worked hard as a unit, with David O'Neill's speed and intelligent angles of running ensuring the continuity game that Ireland craved. Behind the scrum, McPhail's great balance and appreciation of angles allowed him to make several half breaks while Mark Canning demonstrated pace and power, taking his try superbly.
Hickey failed with a long-range penalty on two minutes, but Ireland conjured the points their play merited four minutes later. Murphy exploited the short side from a ruck on the Welsh 22, O'Neill took the ball on and Keogh surged clear timing his pass to the supporting Murphy perfectly. Hickey added a superb conversion from the touchline.
The outhalf then kicked a 22-metre penalty as Wales were forced to stray offside in desperation after another excellent passage of play from the home side. Ireland continued to press but had to wait until the 31st minute for their next score. O'Riordan chose a great angle to break out of his own 22, exploiting a gap on the short side. He released Canning on halfway and the wing stepped inside two defenders on route to the line. Hickey failed with the conversion.
Wales began the second half strongly and deservedly grabbed a try through Gareth Delve after just 50 seconds. Whether he touched down before being thrust into the corner flag appeared a little dubious, but the try was awarded on the intervention of the touch judge. Nick Robinson could not post the conversion.
Thereafter, Wales played with a greater intensity, producing some exquisite back play, but Ireland doggedly held on until Rainey's late try ensured a home victory.
Scoring sequence: 6 mins: Murphy try, Hickey con, 7-0; 25: Hickey pen, 10-0; 31: Canning try, 15-0. 36: Delve try, 15-5; 66: Rainey try, 20-5.
Ireland: D O'Riordan (Rockwell); G Carruthers (Coleraine), G Duffy (Roscrea) capt, M McPhail (St Joseph's), M Canning (CBC Cork); E Hickey (DLS Churchtown), F Murphy (CBC Cork); J Lyne (Castleknock), R Best (Portadown), E McGovern (Crescent); S Keogh (St Munchin's), M Carroll (Blackrock); P Bloomer (RS Dungannon), R Wilson (RBAI), D O'Neill (PBC Cork). Replacements: M Rainey (RBAI ) for Hickey (40 mins), F O'Loughlin for Murphy (55 mins).
Wales: S Bruce; T Coles, R Mustoe, D Murray capt, E Jones; N Robinson, A Lake; D Evans, M Crockett, D Fenton; P Griffiths, L Tait; G Williams, G Delve, J Malpas. Replacements: I Hughes for Malpas (49 mins), M Hook for Robinson (52 mins), O Price for Fenton (65 mins).
Referee: S Leyshon (England).
