Ireland make light work of Wales in Six Nations opener

Guinness Six Nations

Ireland 29-7 Wales

Andrew Conway bagged a brace as Ireland hit the ground running in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations with a 29-7 bonus-point victory over defending champions Wales in Dublin.

Carrying on where they left off in the Autumn Nations Series, Andy Farrell’s men opened the scoring inside three minutes as Bundee Aki finished a well-worked move.

A conversion and a further penalty from Johnny Sexton put the hosts 10-0 up at the break before they took the game by the scruff of the neck with Conway’s first try after the restart.

Conway scored a second after Josh Adams was shown a yellow card while Garry Ringrose secured the try bonus-point with a scything run through the Wales defence.

Taine Basham grabbed a consolation for Wales in the 74th minute but it was too little, too late for the visitors as Ireland laid down their marker for a first Championship title since 2018 in style.

Wales had gone into the contest with expectations tempered due to their injury list, with Wayne Pivac without eight British & Irish Lions and around 700 caps worth of experience.

Two of those players were Alun Wyn Jones and Ken Owens, both missing from the matchday squad on the opening weekend of the Championship for the first time since 2010.

Taulupe Faletau, Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric and George North were also among those absent for the defending champions as they faced an Ireland side coming off a superb autumn.

And Farrell’s men picked up exactly where they left off in November, with 23-year-old Ireland debutant Mack Hansen making an instant impression in the opening minutes.

The Connacht winger, the leading try-scorer in this season’s United Rugby Championship, launched the home side’s first attack with a blistering run from inside his own half.

While his chip forward was ultimately gathered by the equally electric Louis Rees-Zammit, Hansen was soon back in the thick of the action as Ireland scored the opening try of the Championship.

From Ireland lineout ball, the hosts moved the ball quickly towards the right before switching back left at pace as Hansen’s looping miss-pass found Aki to give the centre an easy run-in.

Sexton added the extras from a difficult conversion out wide to cap off a dream start for the men in emerald green and the Ireland captain had a chance to extend the lead on 10 minutes.

Good work at the breakdown from Andrew Porter forced a penalty but in the windy conditions inside the Aviva Stadium, Sexton pushed his effort wide to the right of the posts.

Nevertheless, Ireland continued to attack in waves as Ringrose stretched his legs with a break near halfway before Sexton missed another three-pointer attempt on 14 minutes.

The pressure on the visitors was relentless, with Rees-Zammit fielding two dangerous kicks from Jamison Gibson-Park in a matter of minutes as Wales remained pinned in their own half.

Sexton finally capitalised on Ireland’s dominance in the 20th minute, landing a penalty in front of the posts to take the 36-year-old past 500 points in the Guinness Six Nations.

But while the first quarter was one-way traffic, Wales slowly started to find their way into the game with some phase play before a clever Biggar kick put them into the Ireland 22.

A lineout steal from Adam Beard gave the visitors possession but the Ireland defence proved just as formidable as their attack, with Tadhg Beirne holding up Ryan Elias to win scrum ball.

Johnny McNicholl launched another move down the left wing just before the half-hour mark, only for a knock-on between Tomos Williams and Ellis Jenkins to bring it to an end.

The remaining ten minutes of the half became more scrappy as Wales struggled to find a way through Ireland’s defence, allowing Farrell’s men to take a 10-0 lead into the break.

Wales started the second half knowing that they needed to show more attacking intent, having spent much of the first 40 minutes on the back foot as shown by their 101 tackles.

Yet Ireland resumed after the restart in the same manner as they started the contest, scoring their second try just three minutes after the break through Conway.

A smart break from Sexton down the middle set the move in motion, with the ball going wide to Conway who had to take a difficult pass, sprint to the corner and dot down.

Sexton judged his conversion perfectly to add another couple of points before Wales’ afternoon went from bad to worse on 48 minutes when Josh Adams was shown a yellow card.

Ireland made the most of their man advantage within a couple of minutes, with James Ryan and Beirne punching holes in the Wales defence before Conway walked over in the corner.

Another swerving conversion from Sexton extended the hosts’ lead to 24-0 and provided Farrell with a chance to make use of his bench as Finlay Bealham and Peter O’Mahony entered the fray.

Pivac also called for reinforcements as Dewi Lake came on for his debut and Ross Moriarty returned from injury but there was little they could do against a ruthless Ireland.

The home side secured the bonus point just before the hour mark, with Ringrose cutting through the Wales defence after being released by Aki to race over the whitewash.

Sexton was unable to add the extras this time but with a 29-0 lead, Ireland were comfortable and could even afford to give Sexton a rest with Joey Carbery coming on for the last 15 minutes.

But while hopes of a first Guinness Six Nations win over Ireland in Dublin in ten years had been extinguished for Wales, the visitors were rewarded for their endeavour with a consolation try for Basham.

The 22-year-old, one of the brightest sparks for Pivac’s men during the game, read the play superbly to intercept Beirne and go over for his side’s first try of the Championship – with replacement No.10 Callum Sheedy converting.

Yet, fittingly, the match ended with Ireland on top as they saw out the closing minutes in Wales’ 22, rounding off an impressive performance as they now turn their attentions to France in Paris next weekend.