The match as it unfolded

48 seconds:Rory Best grabs the first try. Peter Stringer kicks to the corner, Welsh wing Chris Czekaj passes inside to his outhalf, Stephen Jones, whose clearance kick is blocked down by Brian O'Driscoll. Best is on hand to gather smartly and dive over. Ronan O'Gara misses the conversion. 0-5.

3 mins: Gordon D'Arcy goes down with a groin injury and receives treatment.

4 mins:the first scrum of the match, on the halfway line, and Ireland are rock solid.

7 mins:Simon Easterby gathers Ireland's first lineout.

8 mins:O'Driscoll spills a high ball.

10 mins: Ireland lose their second lineout as no one gets off the ground.

11 mins:Stephen Jones kicks a penalty after Ireland are penalised for playing ball in a ruck. 3-5.

13 mins:D'Arcy conjures a superb break, handing off Stephen Jones and then ducking under the tackle of Alun Wyn-Jones before being pulled down.

14 mins:Denis Hickie cleverly exploits the short side from a ruck close to the Welsh line and just fails to link with David Wallace for a certain try.

16 mins:Wales are penalised for pulling down a maul. O'Gara misses the 47-metre penalty.

20 mins:Ireland are penalised for collapsing rolling maul in sight of their own line and Stephen Jones kicks the penalty. 6-5.

26 mins: O'Gara fails to find touch and eventually Ireland are offside again in the shadow of their own posts after Welsh pressure. Jones kicks his third penalty. 9-5.

27 mins: Geordan Murphy comes on for a blood-splattered Hickie (see photograph, right). Dwayne Peel is causing havoc with tap penalties.

33 mins:O'Gara puts a 22 drop-out into touch and then slices a relieving kick for minimal gain.

34 mins: Ryan Jones goes off with a blood injury.

36 mins: O'Gara rediscovers his touch, rolling a punt into touch five metres from the Welsh line.

37 mins: Murphy fields a Peel clearance kick, hoists a garryowen and reclaims it brilliantly. Wallace does well to field a Peter Stringer pass and set up another ruck before the ball is swept wide. O'Gara's long pass sees O'Driscoll step inside Czekaj and use his strength to hold off James Hook for a try. O'Gara converts. 9-12.

38 mins: Hickie returns.

40 mins: Ryan Jones returns.

Half-time: 9-12.

42 mins:Simon Easterby does brilliantly to foil Czekaj. The Welsh claim he played the man without the ball. It's a 50/50 call but one that goes Ireland's way as Girvan Dempsey slides under the Welsh wing, forcing him to spill the ball.

43 mins:Ian Gough suffers a blood injury and is replaced by Robert Sidoli.

45 mins:A seminal moment as Donncha O'Callaghan is penalised - he's also warned - for offside at a ruck in the Irish 22. Stephen Jones elects to kick to the corner. Ireland relieve the pressure and start to get good field position.

51 mins: Gough returns.

55 mins:O'Gara conjures a superb break after dummying a long pass, making 40 metres. In racing up to support, O'Driscoll feels a hamstring twinge.

57 mins:Duncan Jones replaces Chris Horsman.

58 mins:Ireland kick a penalty to the corner but the ball is overthrown at the lineout and possession lost. O'Driscoll is treated at length for his injury.

59 mins:Communication breaks down as Denis Leamy and Peter Stringer work an eight-nine move only to find Andrew Trimble has gone inside. Possession is lost.

62 mins: Aled Brew comes on for the injured Hal Luscombe.

65 mins:Easterby makes the umpteenth tackle of a brilliant individual performance.

71 mins: Hickie races infield, making a half break just outside the Welsh 22. O'Gara just fails to hold his clever offload.

74 mins: O'Gara partially blocks Hook's intended clearance.

76 mins: For a third time Ireland try the move. D'Arcy loops around to take O'Gara's pass, showing great dexterity. He breaks Czekaj's tackle but is stopped short of the line. O'Gara exploits the short side from the ruck, showing strength to get over. His touchline conversion is exquisite. 9-19.

80 mins:Hickie, left to marshal three Welshmen does brilliantly, tackling Kevin Morgan and bringing down Brew in the same moment.

82 mins:Murphy comes on for an injured O'Driscoll.

84 mins: O'Gara drops a pass inside his own 22 but Ireland wheel the scrum and get the put in.

88 mins:Brew's kick to touch ends the match.