Wales head coach Warren Gatland is backing Eire to win consecutive Grand Slam titles after his squad had been defeated 31-7 within the Six Nations match in Dublin. Strive scoring by Dan Sheehan, James Lowe, Ciaran Frawley and Tadhg Beirne stored Andy Farrell’s present champions on course to doubtlessly be the primary staff to grasp this achievement within the Six Nations period.
Eire will battle it out with England at Twickenham on March 9 earlier than welcoming Scotland for the match’s closing weekend. Gatland, who has beforehand guided Wales to 3 Grand Slams, is of the idea that halting the progress of Eire’s march in direction of one other clear sweep will show difficult.
“I feel they’re positively able to doing it,” he acknowledged, including: “They have the expertise and the composure and gamers who can carry and get them on the entrance foot.”
For the third successive match, Wales ended the primary half with none factors, trailing by 17-0 this time. Regardless of a brighter efficiency within the second half, which included incomes a penalty attempt to an Irish participant, Beirne, receiving a yellow card, hopes of a comeback briefly sparked. Nevertheless, Wales fell to their third loss in a row following tight defeats to each Scotland and England.
Gatland praised his much less skilled squad for displaying “enormous coronary heart and character” on the Aviva Stadium, remarking that the victory margin favoured the house staff. “The scoreline on the finish most likely did not mirror the trouble we put in,” he concluded. “At 17-7, attacking their 22, we did not come away with something.
“We simply did not get a foothold within the sport within the first half. I believed there have been a few robust calls towards us so it was tough to get momentum. I can not query the trouble of the gamers and the way arduous they labored. We confirmed some enormous coronary heart and character right now.
“The scoreline’s most likely not proper. But it surely does mirror the distinction between the 2 sides in the intervening time, the place we’re and the place they’re when it comes to expertise.”
When the Irish staff had been pushing for one more strive on the 17-7 mark, referee Andrea Piardi dominated out Bundee Aki’s try as a result of Robbie Henshaw knocked on. Regardless of this, Farrell, the Irish head coach, didn’t share Gatland’s view on the ultimate scoreline as his staff matched England’s championship document with an 18th residence victory.
Farrell additionally expressed some doubts in regards to the referee’s resolution to offer the penalty strive, however gave credit score to his squad’s response to Beirne’s short-term depart from the sphere.
“It most likely ought to have been 40 or 44-7, there have been a few tries that had been notched off there,” Farrell stated. For those who rewind to the ultimate consequence after which work your means again, I feel we had been tenacious sufficient to succeed in that end result: i.e., a 31-7 win plus a bonus level.”
