Ireland dig deep to shake off Wales
IRELAND ……………………………… 14
WALES …………………………………. 6
Daire Walsh
Ashbourne
It was less emphatic that their opening day victory against Scotland, but a 61st-minute try from the influential Heather O’Brien at blustery Ashbourne last night kept Ireland’s hopes of recording back-to-back RBS Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam titles very much alive.
Ireland had achieved a record-breaking 59-0 success over the Tartan Army in the same venue a week ago, but right from the word go at Milltown House, it was clear that was going to be a much tougher assignment for Philip Doyle’s side.
The hosts did start with a similar vigour to their facile opening round success, with Claire Molloy, Nora Stapleton and Alison Miller all featuring prominently during promising early passages, but they were encountering a Welsh outfit who were performing their defensive duties in a meticulous fashion.
Indeed, having weathered the early Irish storm, Wales started to create inroads through the Irish rearguard, and a bout of indiscipline after 17 minutes presented Llandaff North centre Robyn Wilkins with an opportunity to open the scoring from a close-range penalty.
This kick at goal was from an awkward left-hand angle, but the Welsh No 13 negotiated the kick perfectly, and following her second successful three-point effort from a similar position eight minutes later, the visitors had developed a six-point platform.
Having made such a promising start to the proceedings, Ireland had found themselves pegged back by a team that were desperate to atone for their narrow defeat at home to Italy last week, and despite enjoying plenty of possession towards the end of the half, the wet and windy were making it difficult for Ireland to execute their customary brand of attacking rugby.
They did manage to reap some reward for their endeavours, though, and thanks to an expertly-converted place-kick by returning full-back Niamh Briggs one minute before the interval, they had reduced their deficit to three points (6-3).
There was a sense that Briggs’ opener could prove to be a crucial moment in the game, and following a lengthy spell of dominance in the Wales 22, the UL Bohs star cancelled out the Welsh with a second routine penalty on 50 minutes, after Lowri Harries had been penalised for a high-tackle on Richmond’s Lynne Cantwell.
With momentum now on their side, Ireland were ready to turn the tie on its head, and the pivotal moment of the game arrived just past the hour mark, when a scrum close to the Welsh line provided Ireland with an ideal platform to forge the only try of the contest, as Munster No 8 Heather O’Brien displayed great initiative to gather the loose possession, before driving over forcefully in the right-corner.
Munster’s Briggs was wide of the mark from a tricky bonus kick, but with Wales showing little sign of attacking intent in the second period, Ireland were never in danger of letting their lead slip, and when Briggs superbly split the posts from the 22-metre-line deep into stoppage time, their seventh consecutive Six Nations victory was secure.
Scorers for Ireland Women: H O’Brien try, N Briggs 3 pens.
Scorers for Wales Women: R Wilkins 2 pens.
IRELAND WOMEN: N Briggs; H Casey, L Cantwell, J Murphy, A Miller; N Stapleton, L Muldoon; F Coghlan, SL Kennedy, A Egan; S Spence, ML Reilly; S Fleming, C Molloy, H O’Brien.
Replacements: G Bourke for Kennedy (56), A Baxter for Casey (69).
WALES WOMEN: D Hywel; E Evans, R Wilkins, R de Filippo, P Tuttiett; E Snowsill, A Day; M York, Lowri Harries, C Edwards; J Hawkins, S Powell Hughes; C Nicholas, N Davies, R Taylor.
Replacements: J Davies for York, S Harries for Nicholas (both 50), Sian Williams for Taylor, Laurie Harries for Tuttiett (73), C Phillips for Lowri Harries, S Moore for Day (both 77).
Referee: N Inwood (New Zealand).