Wales held on for a hard-fought 21-16 home win over 14-man Ireland in the opening round of the Six Nations. Leigh Halfpenny opened the scoring for Wales with a penalty 5 minutes in to lead 3-0.
The pivotal moment of the match saw Peter O'Mahony red-carded for a shoulder charge cleanout making direct contact to the head after just 13 minutes, forcing the Irish to play the remainder of the match with 14 players. Five minutes later Halfpenny added a second penalty to make it 6-0.
Despite being a man short, Ireland dominated the remainder of the first half, with two Johnny Sexton penalties in quick succession pulling Ireland level at 6-6 with around 5 minutes of the first half to play. A brilliant break from Robbie Henshaw into the Welsh 22 saw him find Josh van der Flier who was dragged down just short of the line, with a pick and go seeing Tadhg Beirne muscle over for the games first try to see Ireland head into the break up 13-6. Wales struck first in the second half, with a great offload from Josh Navidi seeing George North ghost through the gap to race in for a try to reduce the deficit to just two points at 13-11.
Wales were finally making their extra man count and some superb quick hands saw Louis Rees-Zammit finish acrobatically in the right-hand corner to send the hosts in front 18-13 heading into the final quarter. Momentum was still with the Welsh as Halfpenny slotted a penalty to make it a two-score ball game at 21-13 with 15 minutes to play. Billy Burns pulled three points back for Ireland with just under ten minutes remaining to set up an intense finish to the match. Ireland would have a chance with time well up on the clock to set up an attacking lineout deep in the Welsh 22, but Billy Burns, looking to kick it right into the corner, sent it dead instead to end the match.
Here is how we rated Wayne Pivac's side:
15. Leigh Halfpenny - 7
Kicked well out of hand nailed all of his shots at goal.
Some slick hands to put Rees-Zammit away for the try.
Not too many chances on attack but a good day overall for the 32-year-old fullback.
14. Louis Rees-Zammit - 7
Didn't see as much ball as he would have liked in the opening hour of the game.
He did make a nice half break early on but was chopped down nicely by Josh van der Flier.
Expertly took his chance when it came and was solid defensively.
13. George North - 8
Guilty of spilling the odd ball or two but North had a strong game in the centres for Wales finishing his try well and setting up the other with nice hands to Halfpenny who shifted it on to LRZ.
12. Johnny Williams - 4
Possibly lucky not to put his side a man down with the tackle on Garry Ringrose that ended his game as he was forced off for an HIA. Didn't return. Made his other tackles when on the pitch and managed two beat two defenders.
11. Hallam Amos - 5
Like Rees-Zammit, Amos didn't see much of the ball but didn't go out looking for it either.
Put under the cosh by the aerial bombs from Ireland and dealt with them relatively well but not fantastically.
Subbed off after the hour.
10. Dan Biggar - 6.5
As per usual Biggar was good under the high ball but was caught out a bit on defence with Ireland finding three missed tackles through his channel.
Did well to put the game in Wales' favour in the second half.
9. Tomos Williams - 6
A hamstring cut his game short by half time. Lively without too much success while Earls and co seemed to cover his box kicks well enough.
1. Wyn Jones - 7
A busy game from Jones which did lead to a few errors. His work at the set-piece was solid though while he ended his game with a high tackle and carry count.
Named as the official man of the match.
2. Ken Owens - 6
The return of Ken Owens was thought to be the automatic fix for Wales' lineout struggles but that didn't quite work out as his first dart was a bit off and picked off by James Ryan. While the lineout going astray can't fall fully on the hooker, a few of Owens' darts were some way off the mark.
Around the paddock, he was strong making good metres with his carries and tackled well making 20.
3. Tomas Francis - 7.5
Worked tirelessly on defence topping the tackle count in the first 40 minutes and continued with that effort as he ended his game with 19 tackles. Made sure that the referees checked the clear out from O'Mahony too. A solid effort from the tighthead.
4. Adam Beard - 6
Not as busy defensively as some of his fellow forwards but did manage to make 12 tackles in between his ruck work.
5. Alun Wyn Jones (c) - 7.5
Shares the blame with the lineout troubles along with his hooker. However, few second rowers can get around the pitch the way Alun-Wyn Jones did against Ireland and for a full 80 minutes.
25 tackles, missing just one, is nothing short of brilliant while he also managed 16 metres from just seven carries.
6. Dan Lydiate - n/a
Lasted just 13 minutes and made six tackles in that period before an ankle injury ended his well-deserved return to test rugby. Any rating would be unfair.
7. Justin Tipuric - 7.5
Caught out by Robbie Henshaw's footwork for Ireland's first try. Was his only missed tackle the entire game though as he finished with 29!
A few turnovers thrown in there too and competed at the rucks well.
8. Taulupe Faletau - 5.5
Not quite at his best on Saturday. Racked up 19 tackles but was sat down by a monstrous carry by CJ Stander. Henshaw was also able to beat the no.8 in the build up to Beirne's try.
Replacements:
16. Elliot Dee - didn't get onto the pitch
17. Rhodri Jones - 5
A quick 15 minute cameo where he managed to make 8 tackles with Wales under the pump.
18. Leon Brown - 5
Came on at the same time as Jones and lent his weight in a similar fashion.
19. Will Rowlands - 5.5
Won a turnover and made six quick tackles in 15 minutes.
20. Josh Navidi - 7.5
A real threat over the ball, Navidi was strong on defence as well, hitting double digits in the tackle count in his first 30 minutes on the pitch. Produced a lovely offload to assist George North's try.
One of the best on the park for men in red.
21. Gareth Davies - 6.5
Some slick passes from the base kept the Wales attack firing in the opening stages of the second half.
A solid game from Davies.
22. Callum Sheedy - 5
Made a nice clearance when Wales needed it after Sexton missed touched.
Missed a few tackles but wasn't on for too long.
23. Nick Tompkins - 6
Replaced Williams when he left with an HIA. Made a big defence play to stop a late Irish attack to win it.
Shifted the ball on nicely most of the time but may way to take on the line a bit more.
