RUGBY/Under-21 Report: Ireland will rue what might have been at Eugene Cross Park yesterday, writes John O'Sullivan in Ebbw Vale.
Yet when the numbing pain and disappointment that accompanied referee Antonio Lombardi's final whistle - several Ireland players collapsed to the turf - has been diluted by time, this defeat should look less bleak.
Michael Bradley's team showed great character and no little flair to claw back a 20-5 deficit going into the final quarter, when a player short for 10 of those minutes. UCD second row David Gannon was harshly dismissed to the sin-bin, accused of killing ruck ball close to the Irish line.
It would have been so easy to capitulate, acknowledge that the physically powerful Welsh team was simply too good. The Irish response was a measure of the players' attitude and self-belief: they produced two cracking tries within 90 seconds.
The first came from a setpiece in the Welsh 22. Centre Barry Murphy held the drift defence and his midfield partner and UL Bohemian club-mate Keith Matthews looped around, accelerated through a gap and showed enough strength to make the line. McAllister converted and suddenly there was a chink of daylight at 20-12.
Wales responded by launching a succession of runners, recycling several times to bring play deep into the Irish 22, but when outhalf Nick Robinson tried to inveigle his way through a gap, he was thumped by a double tackle which forced the ball loose.
Matthews set off on a slaloming run across his 22 and then straightened through a gap. He raced 30 metres before offloading to right wing Richard Lane and the UCC student outpaced the cover over the final 50. McAllister again tagged on the extra points and the visitors were within a point.
Wales eschewed a 15-metre penalty, instead opting for a scrum with just six minutes remaining. Ireland's defence was aggressively firm and, having lifted the siege, could have scored a couple of tries in the closing exchanges. Promising full back Tommy Bowe and then Murphy made breaks, with the latter's pass to Matthews looking like a scoring one. Unfortunately his arm was caught just as the ball arrived and it spilled to the deck.
In the dying seconds, Ireland staged another great counter-attack but Lane could not wriggle free of the last defender.
Ireland had taken the lead in the first half with a try on three minutes. Ciarán Potts won a lineout in the Welsh 22, the pack drove and, when the ball was moved wide, a clever interchange allowed John Hearty to squeeze over in the corner.
Wales responded with a try from hooker Huw Bennett, converted by Robinson.
The key to the outcome was the 10 minutes after the interval when Wales scored 10 points despite playing a man short. Outhalf Nick Robinson squeezed over under the posts and he added the conversion and a penalty.
It seems churlish to single out individuals in what was a superb team effort, but the back row, and in particular Lansdowne openside Niall Ronan, was brilliant.
Both sides entered the game unbeaten in this season's Six Nations and while Wales will go on chasing a Grand Slam against France, the improvement in Ireland's performances from the start of the campaign suggest that this may be their only defeat.
Scoring sequence: 3 mins: Hearty try, 0-5; 17: Bennett try, Robinson conversion, 7-5. Half-time: 7-5. 43: Robinson penalty, 10-5; 47: Vaughton try, Robinson conversion, 17-5; 61: Robinson penalty, 20-5; 65: Matthews try, McAllister conversion, 20-12; 66: Lane try, McAllister conversion, 20-19.
WALES: G Swales (Swansea); W Kershaw-Naylor (Bristol), J Vaughton (Swansea), G Henson (Swansea), M Nuthall (Pontypridd); N Robinson (Cardiff), M Phillips (Llanelli); P James (Neath, capt), H Bennett (Swansea), R Thomas (Newport), B Griffiths (Llanelli), J Thomas (Swansea), M Lewis (Pontypridd), R Sowden-Taylor (Cardiff), J Malpas (Cardiff). Replacements: N Brew (Newport) for Vaughton (60 mins); R Pugh (Swansea) for Sowden-Taylor (76 mins).
IRELAND: T Bowe (QUB); R Lane (UCC), B Murphy (UL Bohemian), K Matthews (UL Bohemian), J Hearty (Blackrock College); D McAllister (Terenure College), F O'Loughlin (Shannon); J Lyne (Lansdowne), R Best (Belfast Harlequins), D Fitzpatrick (Belfast Harlequins); D Gannon (UCD), N McComb (Dundee HS); C Potts (St Mary's College), S Keogh (UCC, capt), N Ronan (Lansdowne). Replacements: S O'Connor (Cork Constitution) for McComb (55 mins); J Muldoon (Galwegians) for Ronan (66-73 mins).
Sin-binned: R Sowden-Taylor (Wales) (38-48 mins); D Gannon (Ireland) (61-71 mins).
Referee: A Lombardi (Italy).
