It is difficult to know what will have annoyed Warren Gatland most: the end of his glorious tenure in Wales with defeat, the end of Wales’s 11-match unbeaten run in Cardiff, the end of their one-match reign as the world’s number one? It could be any of the above but the unifying grief is almost certainly that it should be Ireland who inflict all those maddening niggles, just as he prepares to announce his World Cup squad.
No one can say he had not asked for it. Gatland was at it again in midweek, unable to resist a little dig against his former employers and their show team.
He does it so gently but buried amid the jabs was the pointed suggestion that some of Ireland’s key players are getting a bit old for this malarkey, that it could be time to introduce some fresh blood, that perhaps potentially it might be a little late to do that with the World Cup on the horizon. Was, in short, his fellow Kiwi Joe Schmidt suddenly hamstrung between the past and the future?
Well, for an hour at least, the age profile of this particular iteration of the Ireland team did not look too much of a problem.
Rory Best was lingering on the bench, alongside Devin Toner, but otherwise the team were bursting with eager types intent indeed on presenting Schmidt with a variety of dilemmas.
Where to start in reeling off the contenders - from David Kilcoyne at loosehead, a thundering menace in the loose, just as he was destructive at the scrum, through to the deadly men out wide, Jacob Stockdale and Andrew Conway.
There was not a bus pass in sight. And between them, how the inside centre Bundee Aki strove to prove his commitment to the Ireland shirt and how Jack Carty marshalled them all with cuteness.
Another senior citizen Gatland might have had in mind is Ireland’s most precious asset, Johnny Sexton. The reliance on him and his half-back partner, Conor Murray, is Ireland’s most obvious vulnerability but, if there lies a gulf between them and the generation behind, Carty’s performance here was the most compelling evidence to date that there could be life after the old maestro.
Wales have been wrestling with their own problems at fly-half, following the injury suffered by Gareth Anscombe, leaving Dan Biggar a little isolated himself as his country’s linchpin.
This was billed as an audition between two men to follow him up the steps to the plane and each of Wales’s fly-halves here was given the half they were promised to stake their claims.
Alas, poor Jarrod Evans’s coincided with Ireland’s ascendancy. He looked sharp in bursts but missed a simple penalty and had to watch as the visitors played their best rugby to build a 15-3 lead by half-time.
So on strutted Rhys Patchell, who did much to ease Wales into something approaching a rhythm. As the scrum in front of him continued to crumble, to do so was quite a feat of adroitness, especially as that scrum, down to seven after Leon Brown carried the can for previous deficiencies, conceded the penalty try that moved Ireland 19 points clear just short of the hour.
If they had held on to a lead of 16 points or more, Ireland would have taken a turn at number one in the world.
Patchell, though, managed to guide Wales into the right areas, scoring the second of their two tries in the final quarter. In his mid-twenties, he is neither too old nor too young; he is happy at full-back and plays very much like Anscombe. His place on that plane is surely assured.
But, for all the irritations, Gatland took time to acknowledge more profound emotions. Whatever the result, a last home match at the end of one of the most successful eras in Welsh rugby history caught him unawares. “I was a bit choked up a bit before the match,” he said. “And coming off the pitch I was quite emotional. I just want to say a big thank-you to everyone in Wales. They’re a special people, very passionate, very kind. There’s a really special place in my heart for Wales. I think we’ve massively overachieved in the last 12 years. And we’re not finished yet.”
