Wales 9 Ireland 19:A scratchy, often patternless, error-prone game in which an edgy Ireland spent much of the afternoon scrambling. Ultimately though, Ireland hung tough to eke out a win, scoring three tries to nil, without playing especially well against a fired-up Welsh side in their home stadium on the opening weekend of the Six Nations. That can't be all bad.
Fortune favoured them in terms of some key decisions and bounces of the ball, but Ireland's greater experience and composure shone through in a harum-scarum type of game. If Paul O'Connell and co in the tight five were unusually anonymous on the ball, it was perhaps partly because they focused so much on effecting their basics, most critically their much-discussed, analysed and targeted scrum. On top of that, John Hayes was immense in cutting down smaller, niftier and quicker men - which, admittedly, goes for most other players on the planet. But it was a big game from the big man.
There were also huge performances from Denis Leamy, Simon Easterby and David Wallace in the back row, and most of all from Gordon D'Arcy.
But for all that, Ireland's rucking and support of the ball carrier lacked precision, Eddie O'Sullivan identifying a tendency to go off their feet too often and be counter-rucked or have Peter Stringer swamped.
Maybe it was the veritable gift of a first-minute try coupled with the high expectations placed on this Irish team both from within and outside, but on foot of that early breakthrough there was a strange flatness and lack of spark to their first-half performance especially.
Despite the scrum holding up well and only one lost lineout, the eternity it took to conduct a conflab over every throw didn't exactly inject the Irish game with tempo. Nor did Ireland's use of the ball in the first 20 or 25 minutes, a couple of off-the-cuff rumbles by D'Arcy apart.
Indeed, Ireland kicked not only too often but poorly as well, putting little or no pressure on the Welsh back three.
At a time when the game was seriously slipping away from Ireland, O'Gara missed two touches, put a 22 restart out on the full and sliced another touchfinder.
By contrast, Wales took their throws quickly, were put on the offensive by a couple of typically sharp tap penalties by Dwayne Peel and, more skilful from one to 15 on the ball, offloaded out of the tackle better.
This is an area of Ireland's game that still needs significant improvement. Thrice Wales came knocking through multiple phases, and thrice Ireland were cute enough to slow down the ball or push up offside to concede three-pointers that each time were a relief. It helped too that Stephen Jones took the ball so deep in a relatively ponderous performance and provided no threat whatsoever, and that injuries had made this a non-vintage Welsh three-quarter line.
The sight of a tomato-headed Denis Hickie was a figurative description of a bloodied Ireland at the time, although as it transpired it was the best thing that happened Ireland in the first half save for the early present.
Leamy, with one of his above-the-head catches not strictly by the textbook, had retrieved a return box kick by Peel off O'Gara's kick-off, and D'Arcy had taken it up the middle. Stringer box-kicked to the corner, where Stephen Jones gathered a slow, low pass by Chris Czekaj and had his kick charged down by Brian O'Driscoll. Following up quickly, Rory Best showed good hands when picking up on the run and composure to score. There were 48 seconds on the clock.
Almost immediately D'Arcy was receiving treatment to a strained left groin but would battle through manfully to be the game's outstanding ball-carrier with his footwork, low centre of gravity and phenomenal strength in contact.
Wales found him as slippery as an eel and as strong as an elephant.
Nevertheless, Stephen Jones's three penalties had put the home side 9-5 in front, and Ireland needed a spark from none other than the Trojan D'Arcy. Cue Geordan Murphy. It was his hit on Morgan that ended another concerted wave of Welsh recycling and offloading off a Peel tapped penalty. Murphy then retrieved a Peel box-kick to chase his own up-and-under and leap brilliantly for the catch.
He wasn't finished there, stepping in at outhalf a ruck later to skip pass to D'Arcy, O'Gara miss-passing to O'Driscoll on the touchline for him to step inside Czekaj and take Hook's tackle to score.
Ireland still scratched their way to half-time, when somehow they led 12-9, but it wouldn't have been possible without Murphy's cameo. Apart from Jerry Flannery's introduction in the last quarter and Murphy replacing the injured O'Driscoll late on, it was the only use made of the Irish bench.
And so the unease in Irish ranks continued, Wales outflanking the Irish defence again for the covering Easterby to impede Czekaj with his dive for the ball and Girvan Dempsey then sliding in under the winger to prevent him scoring.
Thereafter Ireland exerted more control in the second half, if primarily through O'Gara's tactical kicking.
Increasingly lording possession also, for a side with their cutting edge they made heavy weather of obtaining the insurance score.
Indicative of the failure to build on several attacking platforms deep in Welsh territory, Stringer went blind from a Leamy pick-up at the base only to find Andrew Trimble had gone inside in a breakdown in communication.
O'Gara had made one searing break before finding Hickie on the touchline, there was another Best overthrow when Ireland opted for a penalty to the corner, and almost inevitably, Ireland were indebted to D'Arcy for the decisive breakthrough.
A trademark set move off a scrum wide on the left saw O'Gara loop around O'Driscoll, who stood up the Welsh defence, and the outhalf in turn threw a long, flat pass to D'Arcy. Again showing excellent footwork and leg strength, not to mention juggling skills, he beat Czekaj before being stopped short of the line. Stringer popped the recycled ball to O'Gara on the blind side, and he did well to take James Hook and ground the ball.
As much out of relief as anything else, the strains of The Fields echoed around the ground as O'Gara nailed another touchline conversion.
To his credit, and as is his wont, the mentally tough Corkman had come through an undistinguished first half and delivered when Ireland needed him to.
Where Ireland would have been without D'Arcy is another matter.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 1 min: Best try 0-5; 10: S Jones pen 3-5; 21: S Jones pen 6-5; 25: S Jones pen 9-5; 34: O'Driscoll try, O'Gara con 9-12 (half-time 9-12); 71: O'Gara try and con 9-19.
WALES: K Morgan (Dragons); H Luscombe (Harlequins), J Robinson (Cardiff Blues), J Hook (Ospreys), C Czekaj (Cardiff Blues); S Jones (Llanelli Scarlets, capt), D Peel (Llanelli Scarlets); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), R Thomas (Cardiff Blues), C Horsman (Worcester); I Gough (Dragons), A Wyn-Jones (Ospreys); A Popham (Llanelli Scarlets), M Williams (Cardiff Blues), R Jones (Ospreys). Replacements: G Thomas (Llanelli Scarlets) for R Jones (31-37 mins) and for Williams (72 mins); R Sidoli (Cardiff Blues) for Gough (41-49 and 70 mins); D Jones (Ospreys) for Horsman (56 mins); A Brew (Dragons) for Luscombe (60 mins); M Rees (Llanelli Scarlets) for Thomas (67 mins); M Phillips (Cardiff Blues) for Peel (73 mins). Not used: C Sweeney (Dragons).
IRELAND: G Dempsey (Leinster); A Trimble (Ulster), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), G D'Arcy (Leinster), D Hickie (Leinster); R O'Gara (Munster), P Stringer (Munster); M Horan (Munster), R Best (Ulster), J Hayes (Munster); D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Connell (Munster); S Easterby (Llanelli), D Wallace (Munster), D Leamy (Munster). Replacements: G Murphy (Leicester) for Hickie (25-34 mins) and for O'Driscoll (75 mins); J Flannery (Munster) for R Best (65 mins). Not used: S Best (Ulster), N Best (Ulster), M O'Driscoll (Munster), I Boss (Ulster), P Wallace (Ulster).
Referee: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand).
