Ireland vs Wales LIVE: Six Nations rugby final score and result as Andrew Conway strikes twice
Follow all the reaction live from the Aviva Stadium in Dublin
Ireland eased past reigning champions Wales 29-7 in the opening game of the Six Nations championship in Dublin on Saturday, picking up where they left off in November with a comfortable victory.
Ireland looked every inch one of the tournament favourites when they roared out of the blocks in the same manner that toppled New Zealand three months ago but still needed a second half burst to put the injury-hit visitors out of sight.
“It’s never going to be perfect in your first game but we’ve got everything to play for and we know there’s a massive test ahead next week,” captain Johnny Sexton said in a pitchside interview, referring to next week’s trip to France.
It took Sexton’s men just two minutes to take control. An attacking lineout that has proved so lethal of late was the starting point again with Bundee Aki crossing in the corner, aided by a nice looped pass from debutant winger Mack Hansen.
It felt like only a matter of time before the hosts would score again from hand but a couple of sloppy errors - including Sexton uncharacteristically missing two out of three shots at goal - invited Wayne Pivac’s side back into the game
A predictable attack from a side shorn of 680 caps through injuries to the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, George North and Taulupe Faletau was comfortably contained by Ireland’s choke tackle defence.
While a better side could punish Ireland later in the tournament for not being clinical enough to extend their lead beyond 10-0 at halftime, Andy Farrell’s side returned in a much more ruthless mood after the interval.
Andrew Conway put Ireland out of sight with two tries either side of a yellow card for makeshift Wales centre Josh Adams, first using every millimetre of his 1.8 metre frame to reach for the corner and simply collecting a pass to add another.
Centre Garry Ringrose snaked through the porous Welsh defence on the hour to make sure of the winning bonus point.
Ireland emptied their bench and with that lost a little bit of concentration, allowing Wales flanker Taine Basham in for a late try that ensured the visitors did not add a scoreless outing to an otherwise miserable afternoon.
The win extended Ireland’s winning run to nine games but they will face an altogether more difficult test in Paris if they are to make it 10 in a row.
Scotland 10-6 England, 46 minutes
England draw penalty advantage at the lineout and try to suck bodies in to the maul.
A purposeful burst! Henry Slade arrives beautifully on Ben Youngs’ shoulder as the scrum-half holds the defensive line, and Darcy Graham is penalised for going beyond the ball and not supporting his body-weight as he tries to contest at the ruck.
Scotland 10-6 England, 44 minutes
England clear downfield and Darcy Graham sets off on a weaving return, hurrying about like a wind-up toy knocked off course. He runs into teammate Grant Gilchrist, who is somewhat unfortunate to be penalised for crossing - I’m not quite sure Graham quite knew where he was going, but the lock’s midriff was presumably not his intended destination.
Scotland 10-6 England, 43 minutes
Just the fourth scrum of the afternoon and instability again on the first attempt to get both eights to push legally. Ben O’Keeffe resets and then calls England for an eary drive.
Finn Russell biffs a grubber on the angle out of play just inside the England 22.
Scotland 10-6 England, 42 minutes
An error from Steward! The simplest of takes under no pressure and the England full-back spills it, perhaps guilty of considering his next move before the ball was safely in his grasp.
Scotland 10-6 England, 41 minutes
Ali Price takes his time over a box kick and hoists it high, with Freddie Steward rushing forward to take with trademark aplomb and calm. Max Malisn is caught behind the gainline but pivots nicely from a tackle, though not before the England momentum is stalled. Ben Youngs also sends something skywards - Stuart Hogg does the catching equally well.
Second half nears
Finn Russell has a last chat with Gregor Townsend in the sheds. Scotland have looked dangerous whenever they’ve had the ball, and lead despite having spent just seven seconds in the England 22 in the first half. What does the second 40 minutes have in store? There are no changes at the interval.
H/T: Scotland 10-6 England
An odd, if incredibly intriguing half, largely controlled by England, who have played some nice stuff but have perhaps been guilty of kicking slightly too often. Scotland have stood up well defensively with Steve Tandy’s unit again impressing, meaning that even with only about a quarter of territory they lead. Ben White’s score during his brief stint on the pitch while Ali Price was assessed was a good’un, with Scotland their attacking potency.
The question will be if Scotland’s heavy defensive workrate will fatigue them significantly in the second half. Their linespeed and collision intensity have been really, really strong, but England will be confident that they can capitalise if the hosts drop off.
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