Ireland fullback and man of the match Hugo Keenan explained that the Irish backs had spent a fair amount of time on the training pitch in Portugal preparing to neutralise Wales’ kicking game.
The home side had given a clue or two pre-match that they would pepper the Irish backfield but they didn’t reap the dividend they might have envisaged.
Scrumhalf Conor Murray supplemented the Irish back three in patrolling that area, claiming two excellent catches.
Keenan said: “I think we put a big focus on it, we knew it was coming. The back three were brilliant this week at all coming together, putting ourselves under pressure.
“[We had] training drills challenging us in this area, a bit of realistic pressure in the air so that come game day we were ready. Conor Murray was brilliant in the air and a few other lads were as well. I think it was testament to what we had done during the week.”
Keenan was typically diligent in all aspects of his performance and one instance which demonstrated this perfectly was the way he beat Wales flyer Rio Dyer in a footrace to prevent a try. Most people and players expected referee Karl Dickson to blow for a knock-on in a tackle.
The Irish fullback explained: “I wasn’t sure initially whether there was a knock-on or not. I think you can’t really gamble on it. The ref hadn’t blown his whistle. It was early enough in the game that I was relatively fresh, and I suppose I wanted to get back.”
The team flew home on Saturday night and, as Keenan said, the focus has already turned to France, a team as he pointed out that “got the better of us the last two or so times so we know what kind of challenge it is going to be. We’re looking forward to it so we’re going to regroup, [get ready for] a big week.”
Mangan makes his mark as Ireland’s U-20s march on
Perusing the statistics from Ireland’s 44-27 victory over Wales in the Under-20 Six Nations Championship match at Colwyn Bay, it reaffirmed several outstanding performances from Irish performers and none more so that UCD’s Diarmuid Mangan.
The quality and volume of his workrate was encapsulated in several numbers starting with his team-leading 15 carries. The only aspect of his performance review that won’t be glowing is the concession of three penalties. It’s a relatively minor cavil in the context of the result and his personal contribution.
Mangan was joint top of the tackling stats (17) alongside openside flanker Ruadhán Quinn, was one of eight Irish players – Quinn, Paddy McCarthy, Brian Gleeson, Hugh Cooney, John Devine, Henry McErlean and Harry West – to claim top spot in ‘defenders beaten’ and along with Conor O’Tighearnaigh was the primary option for hooker Gus McCarthy out of touch.
Mangan was a member of last year’s Six Nations Grand Slam-winning squad, recovering from injury and coming on from the bench in the victories over England and Scotland. His athleticism and speed mean that he can also play the back row at blindside flanker, the position he covered last season.
Tipperary teenager Brian Gleeson was the official man of the match, the former Gaelic footballer and hurler with Loughmore Castleiney was hugely influential with his carrying game from number eight while another to excel both in real and statistical terms was outhalf Sam Prendergast, the crowning glory in his highlight’s reel, his footwork and offload for James Nicholson’s second try.
Word of Mouth
“Sam Prendergast. Remember the name my friends.” Former New Zealand great Sonny Bill Williams bookended his tweet with a fire emoji in applauding footage of Ireland Under-20 Sam Prendergast’s footwork and offload in the build-up to one of James Nicholson’s two tries in the win over Wales. That’s a highbrow seal of approval from a player who knew a thing or two about offloads in his day.
By the Numbers - 100
Ireland outhalf and captain Johnny Sexton made a century of starts in the green jersey in winning his 110th cap at the Principality stadium. For the record the matches in which he did not start were against France and New Zealand (2010), Wales and Scotland (2011), England, Russia, Italy, Wales (2011), Australia (2018) and Italy (2022).
Gatland finds a silver lining
Wales coach Warren Gatland offered an interesting appraisal that was broadly positive following his side’s defeat, one that might surprise given the nature of the performance.
He said: “At the end of the game I said in my head that I actually wasn’t that disappointed with our performance. There’s a huge amount of upside in us and in the past, we’ve been able to work hard and fix things,” he said.
He said that Ireland were “at their best today,” an assertion that rings a little hollow given a 30-minute spell in the middle of the game in which the visitors abdicated control through ill-discipline, poor decision-making and kicking.
“I think there were about 16 penalties which just isn’t good enough. You need to get that down to under 10 in international rugby. We will work on that and some decision-making going forward. We will keep working hard. In Test rugby you realise it’s a massive step up from club rugby.
“A lot of our players have been in the same position as Ireland are now, when you’re in an arm-wrestle you don’t make many mistakes, you’re clinical, you’re disciplined, you back everything. It’s going to take a few steps to keep improving in that area.”
