Ireland leave for Japan on Wednesday on top of the world rankings after their most grindingly efficient performance since they defeated New Zealand last November. The manner in which they defeated the Six Nations champions, wearing them down in the second half and shutting them out of the contest makes them the most likely of the Celtic challengers in the World Cup.
It took an interval talk from their head coach, Joe Schmidt, who like the Ireland captain, Rory Best, was making his final appearance here, to get the game played on their terms after Wales had led 10-7 at half-time.
Wales lost their fly-half, Rhys Patchell, after 23 minutes when he took a knee to the head when tackling the back-rower CJ Stander. He was taken for a head injury assessment that he failed – the fourth time he has suffered concussion in the past 18 months.
Warren Gatland, the Wales head coach, said he expected the 26-year-old to be Japan-bound with the squad, while pointing out that World Rugby directives for players to go lower was putting tacklers at risk.
World Rugby’s directive on players who suffer multiple concussions states that as they are at greater risk of further brain injury and slower recovery time, they should seek attention from practitioners experienced in concussion management before returning to play and be guided by them.
Patchell made the squad after Gareth Anscombe injured a knee at Twickenham last month and Wales may have to turn to Jarrod Evans.
Ireland played off their scrum-half, Conor Murray, in the second period and used their forwards, and Bundee Aki, to suck in Wales’s fringe defence, making a few metres at a time and keeping hold of the ball.
Their first-half try had been a mix of power and finesse, hard running at the Welsh midfield giving Johnny Sexton the time to put Rob Kearney into enough space to evade the challenge of Jonathan Davies, but their two after the break will not feature on any long lists for try of the year, rewards for patient buildups.
Tadhg Furlong scored the first, forcing through from close range after Best had opted for a scrum rather than three points from a penalty close to Wales’s post. His try was followed by James Ryan, the most influential forward, who finished off a series of close-range drives by going low into Aaron Wainwright’s tackle and through Josh Adams’s challenge.
Wales conceded nine penalties in the second half while being awarded one. They lost Adam Beard to the sin-bin three minutes from time but, even though the game had gone, kept throwing themselves into challenges. They never give up but, unable to win turnovers, they were forced to concede penalties and 75% of possession.
They are a team that attacks through its defence. It yielded their try, scored by Hadleigh Parkes two phases after a scrum following Dan Biggar’s interception on halfway after reading Sexton’s pass. Biggar had made for the line, taking the diagonal route to avoid the cover defence only to be hauled down by Robbie Henshaw at the point he was preparing to dive. Apart from a few early forays when they exploited Ireland’s defence, they were on the back foot and neutralised.
Ireland lost their wing Keith Earls, who was making his first appearance in the warm-ups, to a knee injury but Schmidt said it did not appear to be serious. It was the one cloud for the coach after a performance that invoked the victory over New Zealand here last November and made the capitulation at Twickenham last month seem like a bad dream.
“It was not flash but functional,” said Schmidt, “and you can build something around functional.”
Ireland were at their most tenacious, grabbing their opponent by the throat and keeping a firm hold. Gatland pointed out that when Wales had countered the approach in the past, they had won, as if to say they do not have an alternative plan – but this was the rugby often served up in the knock-out stage of a World Cup and the likely way Ireland will play in their World Cup opener against Scotland two weeks on 22 September in the probable group decider.
Best was taken off after 52 minutes. The crowd rose to applaud the 37-year old who is retiring after the World Cup. He paid tribute to Schmidt, who is taking time out from the game at the end of the tournament, saying the New Zealander had transformed the international side, who in an 18-month period before this year, defeated every other tier one nation in the game.
Schmidt will judge himself after Japan and after a challenging 2019, Ireland are looking like his Ireland again.
