As it happened: Ireland battle past Wales to secure bonus-point victory 

Andy Farrell’s men racked up another bonus-point win and the Triple Crown remains on. 
As it happened: Ireland battle past Wales to secure bonus-point victory 

Ireland's Garry Ringrose is tackled by Wales' Tomas Francis and Aaron Wainwright. Pic: Ben Brady/Inpho

Full-time score: Six Nations - Ireland 27 Wales 17

10.10pm: Mick Cleary's Ireland player ratings: 

10.05pm: Here's Simon Lewis' full-time match report from the Aviva:

Full-time: Bonus-point win for Ireland at the Aviva. They didn't get it all their own way, that's for sure.

80 mins: Ireland turnover. Game over. 

79 mins: Wales kick to the corner with just over a minute remaining. Tomos Williams is back on for the final Welsh push.

77 mins: That pressure leads to an Irish penalty in front of the posts. Jack Crowley makes no mistake this time. Gap stretched to 10. That should do it.

75 mins: That steal leads to some scintillating play from both Baloucoune and Frawley, but Wales manage to clear. More Irish pressure coming. 

73 mins: Massive seven minutes remain. Wales have line-out possession around half-way, but it's stolen by Joe McCarthy. Huge.

69 mins: Ireland try - a huge score. Conan and Gibson-Park heavily-involved early on, before a Crowley, Garry Ringrose and Stockdale combo sets up Jamie Osborne. Crowley misses a simple conversion, which could prove costly for Ireland, given it has only left the gap at seven. 

Tom Farrell comes into the Ireland backline, as does Ciaran Frawley. Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams has gone to the bin.

66 mins: A stroke of luck - or positional genius - means Joe McCarthy is able to gather a high ball and kick in behind, but Wales' Edwards covers brilliantly.

Ireland have line-out possession just outside the Wales 22.

63 mins: Try Wales. It's James Botham who manages to get over the line. Edwards will tap over the conversion. A huge 17 minutes to come. 

Tom Stewart and Michael Milne come in for Kelleher and O'Toole in the Irish front-row. Two points in it - 19-17.

62 mins: It is indeed. Wales now going through multiple phases but are yet to breach the Irish rearguard.

61 mins: Another Wales penalty. Quick-tap on?

Wales' Dafydd Jenkins is tackled by Ireland's Ronan Kelleher. Pic: Ben Brady/Inpho
Wales' Dafydd Jenkins is tackled by Ireland's Ronan Kelleher. Pic: Ben Brady/Inpho

60 mins: Penalty Wales after some huge scrum battles inside the Ireland 22. Those three aforementioned Irish replacements are now in. Furlong, Timoney and Ryan gone off.

56 mins: Wales scrum. Bit of a helter-skelter couple of minutes from both sides. Some crunching tackles going in.

Change at hooker and prop for Wales. Ryan Elias and Archie Griffin into the front-row. Joe McCarthy, Josh van der Flier and Thomas Clarkson ready to enter the fray for Ireland, too.

52 mins: Excellent work from as Ireland's Tom O'Toole and Rónan Kelleher wrap up Dewi Lake and Ireland get the scrum - and then the penalty.

Flanker Ollie Cracknell is on for Wales. They'll need a big impact from their bench.

51 mins: Tadhg Beirne is punished for a deliberate knock-on off a Wales line-out. He did his utmost to pull out of it by certainly made contact with the ball.

49 mins: The aforementioned Adams fluffs a pass as Wales looked like getting over the line in the corner.

48 mins: Penalty Wales. James Ryan punished for an off-the-ball tackle on Wales winger Josh Adams.

45 mins: No issue for Dickson and the try is awarded. 

Crowley's kick is good and Wales try-scorer Carre is replaced in the front-row by Nicky Smith.

44 mins: Ireland try. Jack Conan gets over, but Dickson is going to have a look at this one.

44 mins: Ireland have a penalty inside the Wales 22, which Gibson-Park takes quickly - we've seen that one before.

43 mins: Ireland going through multiple phases. Big Kelleher carry in the middle of it. Wales really bringing the fight, however.

9.11pm: Jack Crowley gets the second-half underway.

Half-time: Ireland lead by two. All to play for.

40+2 mins: Wales try. Wow. That man Rhys Carre remarkably evades the tackles of Baloucoune and Tadhg Furlong to run over. Edwards' kick is good. 

40 mins: Wales scrum. Rob Baloucoune gets up well but is unable to gather a well-judged Crowley kick.

Jack Crowley of Ireland scores his side's second try. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Jack Crowley of Ireland scores his side's second try. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

38 mins: No joy with the conversion. Pulls it left and wide.

37 mins: Ireland try. It's Jack Crowley who crosses the white-wash. 12-3. His conversion to come. 

36 mins: Ireland handed a penalty after a Dafydd Jenkins infringement in the line-out. Another wave of Irish pressure incoming. Can Wales hold on? 

34 mins: With Ireland on the verge of muscling their way over the try-line, Wales' Alex Mann intercepts Gibson-Park's pass from the base of the ruck. Superb from the back-row.

31 mins: Ireland retain the ball inside the Wales 22 as Gibson-Park returns to the field. 

30 mins: Another penalty. Jack Crowley kicks deep into Wales territory and Rónan Kelleher's line-out finds Irish hands on the 22.

Spectators look on during a line-out. Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Spectators look on during a line-out. Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

27 mins: Wales continuing to put the pressure on Ireland, but Jack Conan comes up with a huge turnover. 

Crowley kicks into the Welsh half.

24 mins: Nathan Doak is on for his debut at scrum-half. Worrying sign for Ireland as Gibson-Park heads down the tunnel.

23 mins: Referee Dickson warns Doris as Ireland concede another penalty after Wales had turned down the three points.

Rhys Carre tries to drive his way over but the ball is held up by McCloskey, Doris and James Ryan. Welsh mini-siege over.

20 mins: Massive penalty win for Wales. Long stint of Ireland pressure before Wales grab a turnover and kick long, which allows the visitors to exact bundles of pressure on the hosts and it pays off.

They're now just five metres from the Irish line, playing with a penalty advantage after Caelan Doris went off his feet.

16 mins: Tandy's charges are going for the posts here. Edwards dissects the uprights. seven points to three.

15 mins: Some sloppy Ireland play, including a wild McCloskey pass, hands possession to Wales and Louis Rees-Zammit - now back in Welsh colours after his NFL stint - punishes Ireland. 50-22. 

They're playing with an advantage too following an Ireland infringement.

11 mins: That try has been chalked off after the TMO spotted a Tom O'Toole knock-on a metre out. 

Wales scrum.

Jacob Stockdale of Ireland scores his side's first try. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Jacob Stockdale of Ireland scores his side's first try. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

11 mins: Ireland try. Farrell's men look excellent in attack. It's Jack Conan who finishes it. 

10 mins: Ireland marching up-field with some fine attacking moves off Gibson-Park. They now find themselves five metres out.

6 mins: Irish pressure pays off, after some fine Wales defending, initially. Six metres out, Gibson-Park finds Stuart McCloskey and he feeds Jacob Stockdale, who powers over. That'll mean a lot to the Ulster winger. Crowley adds the extras. 

4 mins: First blood to Ireland at the scrum. Penalty. 

Jack Crowley's right boot finds touch. Ireland on the charge.

3 mins: Edwards kicks the ball dead so we'll head all the way back to half-way for an Ireland scrum. Big Timoney hit early on too. 

8.10pm: Referee Karl Dickson blows his whistle and Wales out-half Dan Edwards gets us underway. 

8.08pm: Pre-match duties completed, the Aviva crowd has now settled into their seats in anticipation of a big Irish performance. 

8.04pm: It's national anthem time. Wales first, before Barry Murphy sings both Amhrán na bhFiann and Ireland's Call. 

8pm: The teams are out on the Aviva pitch. Kick-off now less than 10 minutes away.

7.50pm: The thoughts of Ireland captain Caelan Doris, looking back to that massive win over England, and illustrating the need to continue growing under the tutelage of head coach Farrell:

Jack Crowley of Ireland warms up. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Jack Crowley of Ireland warms up. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

“Obviously there's a positive feeling after a good performance like that but it's about the bigger picture, really, and it's about continuing to grow.

“We know we're nowhere near our potential as a team and there's a lot of hard work to be put in, and there's a long journey for us to go on still. It was back to hard work, back to the learnings from the game, of which there were some, as well as some good stuff. It's just about building on it."

7.40pm: Simon Lewis and Brendan O’Brien talk through Jamison Gibson-Park’s remarkable journey from Leinster reserve to Ireland’s orchestrator before his 50th cap against Wales.

Ireland's 50-cap man Jamison Gibson-Park. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Ireland's 50-cap man Jamison Gibson-Park. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

7.30pm: Here's the team news in full: Farrell has handed a first Six Nations start to back-row Nick Timoney in a much-changed Ireland matchday 23, while for Wales, Tandy has made three changes.

IRELAND: Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster); Robert Baloucoune (Enniskillen/Ulster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Rónan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster); Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Nick Timoney (Queen’s University/Ulster), Caelan Doris (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) - captain.

Replacements: Tom Stewart (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Michael Milne (Nenagh Ormond/Munster), Thomas Clarkson (Blackrock College/Leinster), Joe McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), Nathan Doak (Banbridge/Ulster), Tom Farrell (Lansdowne/Munster), Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster).

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell walks the Aviva pitch. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell walks the Aviva pitch. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

WALES: Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol Bears); Ellis Mee (Scarlets), Eddie James (Scarlets), Joe Hawkins (Scarlets), Josh Adams (Cardiff); Dan Edwards (Ospreys), Tomos Williams (Gloucester); Rhys Carre (Saracens), Dewi Lake (Ospreys) – captain, Tomas Francis (Provence); Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Carter (Dragons); Alex Mann (Cardiff), James Botham (Cardiff), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons).

Replacements: Ryan Elias (Scarlets), Nicky Smith (Leicester Tigers), Archie Griffin (Bath), Adam Beard (Montpellier), Olly Cracknell (Leicester Tigers), Kieran Hardy (Ospreys), Jarrod Evans (Harlequins), Louie Hennessey (Bath).

7.25pm: Welcome back to another Irish Examiner Sport live blog - we'll provide minute-by-minute updates as Ireland welcome Wales to the Aviva Stadium for their Guinness Six Nations round four clash. 

So what can we expect from an Irish side two weeks on from their hammering of England at Twickenham? Head coach Andy Farrell has made five changes to his starting 15 for the meeting with Steve Tandy's outfit. There's a strong Ulster flavour to the side, while Jack Crowley retains the No.10 shirt. 

Ireland supporter Elaine McNabb and Wales supporter Gareth Ayers. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Ireland supporter Elaine McNabb and Wales supporter Gareth Ayers. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

And what of Wales? Here's  Irish Examiner rugby correspondent Simon Lewis' take: Wales head coach Steve Tandy should be encouraged by the signs of upward mobility displayed by his team during this Guinness Six Nations campaign but there remain serious doubts about their ability to end a 14-match losing streak in the championship against Ireland on Friday night.

Such concerns appear to lie within the camp itself with Tandy lowering expectations this week despite the boost in belief that has followed their narrow home defeat to Scotland in round three.

x

More in this section

Sport

Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers. and reporters

Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited