We took our place in the ubiquitous Irish bar in the Costa del Sol with some trepidation as Wales and Ireland were about to lock horns in Dublin. We formed a Welsh enclave of two in the crowded bar.
Our trepidation proved well-founded as the Irish looked determined to grind the Welsh into the dust with their brand of power rugby. Wales barely touched the ball in the first half which was accurately reflected in all the statistics but the score. Wales seemed to be able to glean points whenever they ventured into Irish territory while Ireland with the boot of Sexton strangely errant let a lot of points go begging. Wales even managed to build a bit of lead at 8-13 but that was wiped out by an Irish try just before half a time which gave the home side the edge at 15-13.
Wales were still in it and surely had to give a better account of themselves in the second half did not they? Sadly the second half started with more of the same with the Irish driving into Wales as if their lives depended on it. They were irrepressible and before we knew it Wales had conceded another two tries and were fourteen points in arrears.
An Irish bar was not the ideal place to be at this point. We shrank into our corner shaking our heads sadly and taking solace in another pint. Only two attempts to draw, I thought optimistically, as the alcohol coursed through my veins.
Substitutions were made by both teams and things began to change. Wales finally got some ball and began to show just how dangerous they could be. Shingler scored in the corner and with Halfpenny's conversion it was 27-20 and game on. Momentum was suddenly with Wales and a remarkable turnaround was still possible.
The Irish contingent in the bar went silent and there was a mass crossing of fingers and gulping of Guinness. Then disaster for Wales as they conceded to penalty at a scrum. Murray's drunken looking kick hit a post and went over 30-20.
The Irish were cock-a-hoop and smiling again. Wales were not finished, however, and fractured the Irish defense for Evans to score a great try. Halfpenny duly converted and Wales were within three at 30-27 and still a couple of minutes left.
It was still on for Wales with the home side looking jittery. Wales attacked strongly and created the overlap they craved. Stockdale the Irish wing gambled on the intercept and his gamble paid off as Anscombe's pass went straight into his arms with two Welshmen waiting for the ball outside him. The rest is history as they say. Stockdale galloped in for try and the gallant Welsh bid for victory was foiled by the narrowest of margins. Cue for more drink!
The rugby was not over though. The English arrived in the bar in droves and the Celts combined behind Scotland. The atmosphere became more raucous as there were fairly equal numbers of supporters for each team and the effect of alcohol weaved its magic. Scotland were brilliant and made England look slow of thought and deed in recording to deserved victory. It did not make up for the Welsh defeat but it certainly cheered us up. The Irish were happy, as if they can pull off a decent victory against Scoltland, the championship is virtually theirs. They need to be wary of the Scots though!
After every Welsh defeat there is a post mortem and in the cold light of day we know that Wales were distinctly second best for virtually the whole game. We simply could not contain the Irish power game. Although our set piece was generally sound the Irish ball carriers made big inroads into our defence. The Irish dominated possession and even though our attack looked pretty potent they simply did not get enough ball until it was almost too late. There must be a case for Faletau to return if fit. Liam Williams did not have the expected impact and North did enough to warrant inclusion against Italy.
Next week is the big one! Pooler make the trip to Merthyr. I guess they will be the underdogs but can certainly cause a major upset if they play their best rugby. I am certainly looking forward to a close encounter of the hard kind.
Come on Pooler!
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