Andy Farrell says Ireland will gladly take their bonus-point victory over a resilient Wales side that keeps their Six Nations title hopes alive.
Ireland won 27-17 on Friday night, but the outcome remained in the balance throughout a gripping, if error-strewn, encounter.
The victory ensures Ireland will finish their campaign in a Triple Crown decider at home to Scotland next weekend.
However, their chances of reclaiming the title they won in 2024 could disappear if reigning champions France secure a bonus-point victory over Scotland in Edinburgh on Saturday.
REPORT: Ireland relieved after scrappy win
Farrell, who made five changes to the starting XV that defeated England 42-21 a fortnight ago, praised Wales for one of their strongest performances in recent times.
Having pushed Scotland close in their previous match, Wales now have the chance to end their 15-match Six Nations losing streak when they face Italy in Rome next weekend.
“I actually thought Wales did fantastically well to stay in the game,” said Farrell. “They played tough, they hung in there and kept it close on the scoreboard. I thought they were tremendous.
“It was a proper Test match and for us to come away with a bonus-point win, we’d certainly take that with how the game unfolded because it was a different game to the one we played last time around.”
Farrell admitted Ireland struggled to seize the initiative in the way they did against England.
“We weren’t playing rugby on the front foot because of how well they defended,” he said.
“I thought we came up against a rock-solid defence that kept knocking us back, and we should have been a little more patient at times,” added the 50-year-old Englishman.
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Ireland were also repeatedly penalised for offside when Wales applied pressure in their own 22.
“The offside is the hotbed for referees at the moment,” said Farrell. “To keep giving them another opportunity, and then another opportunity, gives them the territory and the feel-good factor they’re after.”
Scrumhalf Jamison Gibson-Park, who earned his 50th cap, felt Ireland may have overplayed at times.
“We’re an attacking team and if teams give us space we want to attack it,” he said. “I think we probably overdid it.
“As game drivers we probably played a little more than we needed to, certainly in our own area and through the middle part of the pitch.”
Gibson-Park admitted Ireland still had work to do ahead of their final match.
“There’s plenty to look at,” he said. “There are areas we can improve on for sure.”
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Despite his influence for both Leinster and Ireland, Gibson-Park remained modest and declined captain Caelan Doris’ invitation to lead the team out against Wales.
“I think there’d been enough noise already, so I was happy to take my normal role,” he said.
He did, however, admit that a video shown on the Irish Rugby website earlier in the week, featuring his family celebrating the milestone, had caught him off guard.
“I didn’t know it was coming and it was pretty emotional seeing it,” he said.
– AFP
Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
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