RUGBY
Focus turns to World Cup following last home game before squad is finalised
By Daire Walsh
THE place-kicking accuracy of Leigh Halfpenny once again proved pivotal for Wales in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon, when Ireland succumbed to a second defeat in 2015 in their third World Cup warm-up clash.
This was the second time that Ireland suffered a reversal at the hands of Wales in the calendar year, as their only loss in a highly-successful RBS Six Nations Championship was a 23-16 defeat in Cardiff on Saturday 14 March.
Although they will face England in Twickenham on Saturday, this was the final opportunity that players had to force their way into the reckoning for a place in Joe Schmidt’s final World Cup squad.
From the four provinces, Leinster had the greatest representation in Ireland’s starting line-up for Saturday’s game, with a total of eight players – including Naas man Jamie Heaslip – selected in the first fifteen.
Captain Paul O’Connell was playing his final international game in the Dublin 4 venue, but it was his second-row partner (Ulster’s Iain Henderson) who stole the limelight at the end of the opening period.
Five points apiece from try-scorer Justin Tipuric and Halfpenny had provided Wales with a strong platform, but following major persistence from the Irish pack, Henderson supplemented an earlier Jonathan Sexton penalty by crashing over for a converted score.
Having endured a difficult first-half against a motivated Wales, Ireland would have been thrilled to be on level terms (10-10) when the action resumed. Indeed, the sides remained deadlocked for much of the second period, until a brace of successful Halfpenny penalties (amidst torrential rain at Lansdowne Road) offered daylight to the visitors moving into the final ten minutes of play.
A major push in stoppage-time almost enabled the hosts to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but Cronin was held up just shy of the line, and Ireland will now look forward to their final warm-up encounter with the English.
Schmidt and his coaching staff were also interested spectators in Donnybrook on Friday night, as Leinster enjoyed a facile 68-0 triumph over Moseley of the English Championship.
Kill’s Adam Byrne was picked alongside World Cup hopefuls Gordon D’Arcy and Michael Bent in an experimental side, but it was the returning Isa Nacewa who garnered the greatest attention.
He contributed 11 points to the Blues’ tally in the opening half – including a 37th minute try – as the hosts developed a 21-0 interval cushion. A massive number of replacements were introduced after the re-start, with Suncroft’s Fergus McFadden being chief among them.
When Nacewa finally exited the action in the 56th minute, McFadden took over place-kicking duties. With four conversions from five attempts, the Old Belvedere clubman had reason to be pleased with his performance, and thanks to a neat off-load by Byrne, he also raced through for a well-taken five-pointer on 70 minutes.
Leo Cullen would certainly have been satisfied with his first home outing as Leinster head coach, but he will be aware that this Friday’s away fixture against Edinburgh in the Guinness Pro12 will be a completely different proposition.