Wales vs Ireland: Results, Highlights and Analysis

The beginning of the 2023 Six Nations Championship was marked by a decisive play where Ireland beat Wales 34-10. The game was held at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, and Ireland’s convincing win remains a hot topic among many sports enthusiasts. 

Key Events Summary

Wales entered the field under the new leadership of a well-known figure Warren Gatland, but the new set-up did not help the team beat the opponent. In fact, Wales was kind of defeated before their players could even touch the ball since the Irish overtook the game at an early stage. The Irish entered the game with a strong determination to win, which was obvious in the ferocious speed of the players. The team’s fierce energy was obvious at the very beginning, as soon as Caelan Doris made a swift move only three minutes into the game. And after only six minutes of Johny Sexton’s conversion, James Ryan made a magnificent move which doubled the team’s lead. 

On the other hand, the Welsh team fought hard to win points and overthrow the Irish from the pedestal, but their attempts were thrown off by Andy Farrell. The Irish scored their third runaway try after only 21 minutes, thanks to the quick reaction of James Lowe. Additionally, the end result was also supported by two penalties for Sexton and one for Dan Biggar, after which the Irish achieved a 27-7 lead at the break. The game received incredible attention from numerous fans in the area, and many of them even made predictions on online betting sites. The casino/sports betting portal Irishluck reported that over 6,000 people had betted on this match from their rugby betting section. Having in mind how passionate the Irish are about sports, and how important the game was for the nation, this does not come as a surprise. 

Overview of the Score

Wales started the game with a modest score of only 3 points in the first half, and in the second they doubled the success with a total of 7 additional points. However, with the incredible 27 points that the Irish scored in the first half, the Welsh team simply couldn’t stand a chance. Ireland supported the initial success with another 7 points in the second half, which totalled 34 points in the end. Basically, Wales started the second half with a strong intention of finding gaps in Ireland’s defence, managing to score in the first six minutes. 

However, the Irish managed to recompose quickly, strengthening the defence once again. The lack of discipline presented by Wales in the first half was soon back, and Ireland use it to finish strongly. The team pounded the Welsh line with their solid forward pack which encouraged Josh van der Flier to achieve the end bonus-point score. And even though the teams scored an equal amount of points in the second half, Ireland’s win was sealed by the team’s spectacular performance in the first half. 

First-Half Highlights

The two teams enter the stadium in Cardiff, eager to get the 2023 Six Nations Championship started. Johnny Sexton has the honour to kick off for Ireland, and the long waited event officially begins:

3 minutes

The early pressure of Ireland is obvious only 3 minutes into the game. Thanks to Sexton’s skilful conversion, the team leads 7-0 launching a series of heavy carries. 

7 minutes

Sexton launches a high, hanging kick which is successfully taken by Lowe, but he ends up spilling the ball upon landing. However, the play is soon brought back for an offside penalty, which gives Ireland a whole new chance to gain a beneficial field position. 

9 minutes

Ireland scores again, updating the score to Wales 0-14 Ireland. Despite the efforts of the Welsh team to control the Irish, Bealham makes an excellent pass to Ryan which ends up with Sexton confirming the team’s initial lead. 

14 minutes

Wales scores the first three points, altering the score to 3-14. The team manages to apply a great deal of pressure on the Irish, which also helped them win a penalty.

19 minutes

Ireland wins a penalty, and Sexton restores the 14-point lead of his team, placing the score at Wales 3-17 Ireland. 

21 minutes

Ireland continues playing fiercely, and after a long-ranger from James Lowe, the score is updated to a Wales 3-24 Ireland. At the moment, the Irish scored a total of three tries in only 21 minutes into the game. 

27 minutes

The indiscipline has once again pulled the Welsh team down, which on the other hand helped Sexton step up and win three more points, altering the current score to Wales 3-27 Ireland.  

37 minutes

The Irish are penalized on the floor, creating a perfect chance for Biggar to kick to the corner and have the crowd rise in excitement. 

40 minutes

Wales is on the attack, under the pressure of the clock ticking. A tackle on Adams wins a penalty for Wales, giving the team hope for the last chance to win some points in the first half. However, the score remains unchanged. 

Half-Time

The first half of the game ends with Ireland’s obvious lead. Wales fought hard, but even when they achieved possession in the opponent’s half, the Welsh just couldn’t alter the score to their advantage. 

Second-Half Highlights

Warren Gatland gives his first half-time talk to the team after 2019, hoping to boost the players and motivate them to even out the score. Wales continues making an effort, and this is how the game continues after Biggar kicks off at the beginning of the second half:

46 minutes

Wales strikes first in the second half, updating the score to 10-27. After the consecutive penalties, the team manages to get to the Irish line, spreading the ball to the left. Liam Williams gets a clear run to the line, getting hit late by Porter as he makes a score. 

50 minutes

Wales puts all the effort into trying to find a gap in the defence of the Irish team. The events are followed by a dominant tackle from Doris, which leads to a breakdown penalty for the Irish.

55 minutes

Henderson, the Irish replacement lock, tries to block the kick of Liam Williams, but he ends up smashing Williams to the floor, which gets ruled out as a penalty by the TMO. 

63 minutes

Dyer runs into the open space after Wales ships the ball to the left. The Welsh centre gets pinged after not releasing the ruck, which wins another penalty for Ireland. 

65 minutes

The TMO inspects Liam Williams’ potentially high contact with Sexton, determining it to be true, but non-intentional. The full-back gets a harsh yellow card and time in the sin bin. 

70 minutes

The excellent running of the Welsh back rowers gives Reffell, Faletau, and Morgan a chance to offload out of tackles, but that was simply not enough to breach the strong defence of the Irish. 

73 minutes

The score is set to Wales 10-34 Ireland, as the Irish keep building on the pressure, continuing to attack the Welsh line with strong hits. Van der Flier receives a smart flat ball from Casey and manages to score under the posts with incredible ease. 

75 minutes

Lowe catches and intercepts a floated kick that was thrown wide from Hawkins, but the ball ends up hitting the ground, going back to the hosts. 

76 minutes

Liam Williams rejoins the game after a time in the sin bin, but at this point, there is not much that the Welsh team can do. However, the team continues to fight hard, hoping to balance the stats on the scoreline. 

79 minutes

Liam Williams does his best to make a break down the right, but soon enough he gets smashed to the ground by Ringrose. A penalty is given against Williams because of not releasing in the ruck, and the visitors get a chance to potentially finish the game with an improved score. 

80 minutes

The excitement goes through the roof as Ireland gains penalty advantage when the clock is ticking beyond 80 minutes. Byrne makes a move kicking wide to Hansen who manages to pick the ball off the ground. However, Adams smashes him to the ground before he can actually dot it down. The game ends, and the fans of Ireland are ecstatic about the final score. 

Thanks to the efforts of both national teams, the 2023 Six Nations Championship was kicked off with an incredible game. Team members from both sides did their best to help their country win, but it turned out that Ireland was far too good for Wales to overcome at this point, and the rest of the teams are sure to take notice of the spectacular moves of the Irish. If we’re supposed to predict the quality of the following games based on the initial one, we can expect to enjoy a series of mind-blowing events that no fan of international rugby should miss.