Under-21 international/ Wales 32 Ireland 5: Ireland's senior team will hope a precedent has not been set after the under-21s handed Wales their Grand Slam victory at Neath last night. Number eight Stephen Ferris gave Ireland a fleeting chance with his try in the first half only for Wales to hit back with 17 points in the opening 10 minutes of the second half to kill off the visitors.
Consideration was given to delaying the kick-off as more than 7,000 crowded into the Gnoll and Ireland will probably have hoped they had as Matthew Jones put Wales into an early 10-point lead inside 16 minutes.
It was perhaps no surprise that Jones should be the quickest to settle in a fevered atmosphere on a night when his regional side, Neath-Swansea Ospreys, took a significant step towards clinching the Celtic League crown just 10 minutes down the road at Swansea.
Jones booted a penalty inside three minutes before latching on to James Ireland's break through the heart of the Irish defence to score a try that he converted.
Ireland, to their credit, were full of endeavour and hard work to compensate for a lack of cohesion or structure to their play. Centre Andrew Trimble provided a cutting edge through the midfield but all too often was left to do so alone.
The one time his team-mates were on the same wavelength produced their sole try of the game. Again Trimble burst through the first two tackles before delaying his pass to Ireland's only other outstanding player, Ferris, who galloped over in the corner to narrow the gap to 10-5 as it remained until half-time.
But when Chris Czekaj scored a try minutes after the break, the second half turned into a rout. Andrew Bishop profited after Daniel Riordan made a hash of dealing with a high ball before Czekaj got his second late on after Ireland replacement Chris Henry was sent off for foul play off the ball having been warned moments earlier.
WALES: R Williams; A Brew, A Bishop, D Hewitt, C Czekaj; M Jones, J Ireland; S Roberts, D Goodfield, C Griffiths, A Jones, I Evans, C Davies, J Mills, J Merriman (capt). Replacements: T Riley for Hewitt (60 mins), W Evans for Ireland, P Osborne for Griffiths, T Smith for Davies (all 66 mins), B Thompson for Evans (68 mins), A Thomas for M Jones (70 mins).
IRELAND: D Hurley; P McKenzie, A Trimble, G Stafford, D Riordan; D Steenson (capt), D O'Leary; M Diffley, J Merrigan, J Andress, L Stevenson, R Caldwell, B McNamee, S Ferris, O Hennessy. Replacements: C Henry for Caldwell (57 mins), E Bracken for Andress (67 mins), P Marshall for O'Leary (68 mins), M Melbourne for Stevenson (70 mins).
Referee: D Changleng (Scotland).
Ireland's women's team last night defeated Wales 11-6 at the Cardiff Arms Park, winning their first game of the Six Nations in over two years with a late try from Lynne Cantwell proving decisive.
Ireland led 6-3 at the break with centre Joanne O'Sullivan knocking over two penalties and Awen Thomas with the reply for Wales. With Rosie Foley and Joy Neville outstanding in the pack, Ireland dominated the lineout and they sealed victory after an hour when Cantwell touched down in the corner.
IRELAND: N Ní Chaidhain; L Cantwell, J O'Sullivan, P Kelly, G Davitt; SJ Belton (capt), T Rosser; F Coughlan, J Lonergan, E Coen, R Foley, G Healy), O Brennan, R Boyd J Neville.
