Wales v Ireland Six Nations Rugby


Wales v Ireland

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Wales v Ireland. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

The lights are much brighter on a Friday night, but can welsh rugby

:00:47.:00:55.

forget all its troubles and cares? # When you're alone and light is

:00:56.:00:58.

making you lonely # You can always go downtown

:00:59.:01:04.

# When you've got worries, all the noise and the hurry seems to help, I

:01:05.:01:07.

know # Downtown

:01:08.:01:12.

# Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city

:01:13.:01:17.

# Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty

:01:18.:01:21.

# How can you lose? # The lights are much brighter there

:01:22.:01:26.

# You can forget all your troubles # Forget all your cares

:01:27.:01:30.

# So go downtown # Things will be great when you're

:01:31.:01:35.

# Downtown # No finer place for sure

:01:36.:01:40.

# Downtown # Everything's waiting for you

:01:41.:01:46.

# Downtown. So, is everything waiting for Ireland to set up the

:01:47.:01:51.

potential championship decider in Dublin next week? The RBS Six

:01:52.:01:55.

Nations kicks off its fourth weekend here in Cardiff and when it comes to

:01:56.:02:01.

the big rugby occasion, no finer place, for sure. And so we kicked on

:02:02.:02:07.

towards the final weekend, this time in Cardiff, Rome and Twickenham, the

:02:08.:02:14.

roof is closed, as you can see, and the stage is set for what we hope

:02:15.:02:20.

will be a fantastic match, as the first three weekends have been. A

:02:21.:02:26.

palpable sense of excitement exuding across the table. And with good

:02:27.:02:29.

reason given what happened two weeks ago.

:02:30.:02:33.

Round 3. The middle round of muddled thinking. At first crystal clarity

:02:34.:02:47.

from Wales in one corner. Determination by Scotland not to be

:02:48.:02:52.

left behind. Sharp awareness of time and space in a second corner. But

:02:53.:03:04.

then the third corner. Hang on, one to go corner? Corner crisis. The

:03:05.:03:15.

fourth corner. Wales cornered. Scotland anything but trapped.

:03:16.:03:28.

Unleashed, breaking free. Out on the uplands where title challengers

:03:29.:03:28.

Rome. It wasn't so much a model in Dublin

:03:29.:03:38.

as making the most of the day while the weather lasted. Of building a

:03:39.:03:46.

protective cover until rain made matters muddy. And then to stay safe

:03:47.:03:51.

and use the water to cleanse the season point by point, to refresh

:03:52.:03:56.

title hopes, minute by minute. Italy about to be burned at

:03:57.:04:10.

Twickenham. Scorched, out of their league. Italy Sharp of mind, England

:04:11.:04:23.

in a model. -- in a muddle. What was going on? I am a referee I am not a

:04:24.:04:29.

coach. In the end England finding a way out of their conclusion. The

:04:30.:04:33.

bonus point secured, the Grand Slam dream still alive. Muddled Round 3

:04:34.:04:40.

when England's win was very much Italy's day.

:04:41.:04:46.

So, still several potential winners of the title, and for the first year

:04:47.:04:51.

in which bonus points have been introduced they actually could have

:04:52.:04:56.

a material impact on the final outcome. As you can see from the

:04:57.:04:59.

table realistically Wales cannot win the title. Tonight is a hugely

:05:00.:05:03.

important test for the team and also for their coaches. You've urged

:05:04.:05:08.

players to go out and redeem themselves, confident they will?

:05:09.:05:13.

Absolutely. Obviously they've been pretty honest with themselves since

:05:14.:05:17.

the Scotland game. We need to put the bronze of the last couple of

:05:18.:05:20.

weeks right tonight. Looking forward to the Irish game. The roof is

:05:21.:05:27.

closed, the conditions and the atmosphere inside the stadium is

:05:28.:05:31.

going to be brilliant. You've resisted calls for change, why not

:05:32.:05:36.

mix it up a bit? I'm a huge relief in giving players the opportunity to

:05:37.:05:39.

go out and put things right. They've been pretty honest with themselves.

:05:40.:05:44.

The coaches have as well. I think this group is a good team and

:05:45.:05:48.

tonight we are playing against a very experienced team. We are

:05:49.:05:52.

experienced as well. An opportunity to redeem ourselves and get a win

:05:53.:05:57.

which is much-needed. How much pressure is on? If things go awry

:05:58.:06:01.

wales could drop out of the top baby which would trigger another pool of

:06:02.:06:02.

death at the there is always pressure. If you

:06:03.:06:10.

look after the process the outcome will look after itself. Pressure,

:06:11.:06:18.

they say, is a privilege. I'm sure Rob Howley could do without that

:06:19.:06:22.

tonight. You can see how precarious the position is for Wales in the top

:06:23.:06:27.

eight. Obviously the match tonight and in Paris next week against

:06:28.:06:29.

France could be hugely influential in determining their final draw for

:06:30.:06:35.

the next World Cup. It's strange, Martin, there is a feeling around

:06:36.:06:39.

Cardiff that the end of the world is nigh and yet actually wales have

:06:40.:06:42.

only played one bad half in this championship, so why is that?

:06:43.:06:49.

Difficult to put your finger on. You were thinking it was the wales of

:06:50.:06:54.

old, doing a good job on Italy, superb performance against England

:06:55.:06:58.

but fell to pieces second half. People weren't happy the way we

:06:59.:07:02.

played in the autumn. It is a spill-over from the autumn

:07:03.:07:06.

internationals. I think that the feeling of the end is nigh is

:07:07.:07:08.

because of the performances. Yes, they had the results in the autumn

:07:09.:07:14.

but the performance did not fill you with confidence that this was a

:07:15.:07:17.

sight that would go on and win the Six Nations. It was not smooth, was

:07:18.:07:25.

not connected, was not synced. That has been a continuation, apart from

:07:26.:07:30.

the England game. Think they are lacking a spark. Defensively against

:07:31.:07:33.

England they were stunning but the cutting edge did not seem to be

:07:34.:07:36.

there. They seemed to be a little off the Mark Stone point at the end

:07:37.:07:40.

of at the end of the World Cup, time to

:07:41.:07:48.

blood new talent. If we look at the statistic here, this is

:07:49.:07:52.

extraordinary in reflecting how conservative wales have been since

:07:53.:07:57.

the last Rugby World Cup. It's incredible. Nobody retired after the

:07:58.:08:05.

World Cup. So instead of freshening things up it has been same old, same

:08:06.:08:09.

old and that is the frustration of the public. They want to see fresh

:08:10.:08:13.

faces. They have not been given the opportunity. George Smith has come

:08:14.:08:18.

in for flak. 19 players compared to three from Wales. Fundamentally if

:08:19.:08:24.

Wales are lacking the spark question must be asked, why can they not

:08:25.:08:29.

score more tries? They are making and giving opportunities but I think

:08:30.:08:35.

the execution is lacking. This is a great move, great decision to go

:08:36.:08:39.

down the left channel, because they've got more attackers than

:08:40.:08:42.

Scotland have defenders. The ball goes to Ken Owens, there is a set

:08:43.:08:48.

move. Attack the wide channel. Jonathan Davies coming on a dummy

:08:49.:08:52.

run. Supposed to collect the defenders and take that angle. Ken

:08:53.:08:57.

Owens does the right thing, passes the ball, but because nobody

:08:58.:09:03.

reacted, there has been no option to follow Jonathan Davies up. Owens and

:09:04.:09:08.

Webb the closest supporters. The three quickies should have been on

:09:09.:09:11.

his left hand side, simple passing for a quick try. There is still

:09:12.:09:17.

opportunity. Can't quite get the ball cleanly to Webb and the

:09:18.:09:20.

execution is not right. They are creating chances but not executing

:09:21.:09:25.

quickly enough or being efficient enough in attacking play. More facts

:09:26.:09:29.

and figures illustrating that. Wales need so much more possession in the

:09:30.:09:36.

opposition 22 to convert into a trite. Very few players were running

:09:37.:09:40.

a positive line, they are waiting for the tackle. Cutting edge, the

:09:41.:09:45.

spark we are used to from Wales, somebody getting over the gain line,

:09:46.:09:49.

somebody on the inside shoulder, it doesn't happen. Strange in the

:09:50.:09:54.

build-up to a match how one player almost inadvertently can become the

:09:55.:09:57.

talking point in every single platform. And before this game it

:09:58.:10:03.

happens to fall to Leigh Halfpenny. Easy to forget that four years ago

:10:04.:10:08.

he was the first name on the Lions team sheet, runner-up behind Andy

:10:09.:10:10.

Murray in sports personality of the year. Now people are throwing darts

:10:11.:10:17.

at him from all angles, why? Because of those statistics there. He tries

:10:18.:10:21.

he is scoring are not enough compared to all the other full-backs

:10:22.:10:25.

playing in international rugby. And it's the way Wales are playing. And

:10:26.:10:30.

he has missed two kicks in this championship and everybody says his

:10:31.:10:31.

kicking has gone off. Israel Folau, 47 games, 17 tries.

:10:32.:10:42.

Right at the bottom, Leigh Halfpenny, 32 games, no tries. It is

:10:43.:10:51.

extraordinary. Four years ago the style that was winning Grand Slams

:10:52.:10:54.

and winning games for Wales, Leigh Halfpenny was perfect. In his first

:10:55.:10:59.

11 games for Wales he scored seven tries on the wing. There has been a

:11:00.:11:03.

call for Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny to swap but the management

:11:04.:11:06.

are so stubborn, they are sticking with it. Are they stubborn, so

:11:07.:11:13.

therefore are they wrong? You need an attacking edge at 15. I think

:11:14.:11:19.

they are wrong, I think Liam Williams gives greater balance to

:11:20.:11:23.

the backline, better cutting-edge at 15. One person we must talk about,

:11:24.:11:30.

Justin Tipuric winning his 50th cap for Wales. He has been superb,

:11:31.:11:33.

similar to Lee Williams and Leigh Halfpenny about who should play

:11:34.:11:38.

where? We have had more button and to prick. He has stood up for Wales,

:11:39.:11:44.

because he is so good at all the other things, you overlook his

:11:45.:11:52.

physicality. It is how much ground he covers as well. Superb athlete

:11:53.:11:57.

with an unbelievable engine. He will cover every blade of grass this

:11:58.:12:02.

evening. What I want to see with Tipuric, all in hand. He is as

:12:03.:12:06.

creative as any other Welsh player in the team. Where Justin stands out

:12:07.:12:14.

for me, he is so clever. He understands the game, you can

:12:15.:12:17.

anticipate, he's ahead of the game. He's the future of whether ball is

:12:18.:12:22.

to be. Brevet Justin Tipuric is, you guarantee the ball will end up

:12:23.:12:28.

there. -- wherever he is. Lets go into the archives. Over the past

:12:29.:12:32.

decade or so this match has been pivotal in determining who wins the

:12:33.:12:36.

title on so many occasions. We brought together two great

:12:37.:12:39.

scrum-half and rivals to talk about drop-kicks and Phantom rugby balls.

:12:40.:12:44.

Wales against Ireland. This is that Celtic game that always

:12:45.:12:53.

brings the best out of both teams. Both sets of teams know each other

:12:54.:12:57.

really well. It's a good fixture. The venue, the sense of occasion you

:12:58.:13:02.

get from the principality stadium. I've never seen noise or heard noise

:13:03.:13:11.

like it. This game is huge. Simile fans in Cardiff that day. Wales

:13:12.:13:17.

haven't won Grand Slam for many years. You were always a few scores

:13:18.:13:23.

ahead. The Cardiff factor helped us, there. Massively. Jenkins is going

:13:24.:13:34.

to score! That try was huge from Gethin. Massive. He stolen a few

:13:35.:13:51.

extra yards. I feel sorry for Rog. Final game of the Six Nations,

:13:52.:13:56.

knowing the grand slam was at stake. He's done it! That surely is the

:13:57.:14:04.

grand slam. You still had a chance to win at the end with the kick. I

:14:05.:14:14.

really thought the game was over. Amazing those margins, if that goes

:14:15.:14:19.

another foot, it changes it. Is it long enough? It's not. Ireland are

:14:20.:14:24.

going to win this game, they are going to win the Six Nations title,

:14:25.:14:29.

and above all they are going to win the grand slam. The first in 61

:14:30.:14:36.

years. That was a long time coming. We had stumbled on a few occasions.

:14:37.:14:40.

To do it in Cardiff was pretty special.

:14:41.:14:49.

Phillips is away! Against Tommy Bowe. Wales have scored. Ireland are

:14:50.:15:00.

rushing up to the referee. Mike Phillips, clearly the ball was

:15:01.:15:05.

kicked into touch. The touch judge was so convinced it was the same

:15:06.:15:11.

ball. We had worked on that all week. You got very lucky that they.

:15:12.:15:21.

You could have tackled me but you missed. I probably should have.

:15:22.:15:26.

Tough game for Wales, confidence down a bit. They won't say it but it

:15:27.:15:32.

must be with two losses on the bounce. I think Ireland will be

:15:33.:15:36.

favourites. I think they will. Hugely interesting battles all over

:15:37.:15:41.

the pitch. Webb is probably the one everyone is looking at.

:15:42.:15:47.

With the way Ireland play and the structure they have, the way, can

:15:48.:15:54.

implement a game plan. Webb has been on great form for Wales. He can

:15:55.:16:01.

spark something. So quick, so sharp. It's a massive battle for the Lions

:16:02.:16:07.

jersey. Two of them are gunning for it and it's a big should to fill.

:16:08.:16:13.

Some of us get there, some of us don't.

:16:14.:16:19.

The choirs and the crowd starting to get in good voice. Paul O'Connell

:16:20.:16:25.

and Jonathan Davies have replaced our other three wise owls. When

:16:26.:16:31.

Stephen Jones kicked that penalty eight years ago, did you watch or

:16:32.:16:38.

turn away? I turned away, I had my back turned. He kicked a penalty

:16:39.:16:41.

from that range early so I thought we had blown it. As soon as I saw it

:16:42.:16:48.

drop I went mental. I was normally fairly reserved after we won but I

:16:49.:16:51.

thought we'd blown it. We'd come so close many times before. To win at

:16:52.:16:57.

this stadium, the atmosphere, an incredible day. You knew it was a

:16:58.:17:00.

sneaky Welsh trick with the extra ball, didn't you? When it happened,

:17:01.:17:05.

I wondered why Stringer didn't chase it flat out, and he said it was the

:17:06.:17:11.

wrong ball. The referee didn't want to know. If we talk about today, I

:17:12.:17:19.

know one of the key moments, as an international captain you know about

:17:20.:17:21.

making the right decision in the heat of battle, we've got some

:17:22.:17:25.

example is of one player making the right call and one making the wrong,

:17:26.:17:33.

and once on such small margins are games won and lost. He's right on

:17:34.:17:39.

the touchline, he steps off his foot, he makes no yardage, but he

:17:40.:17:43.

keeps the ball, stays in play and keeps the ball. Clever and simple

:17:44.:17:48.

piece of play. Here we have George North, obviously a fantastic player

:17:49.:17:52.

and a big man, he gets the ball with about four metres and is sluggishly

:17:53.:17:58.

taken into touch and it is a turnover, set piece to Scotland. A

:17:59.:18:02.

massive moment and you are giving the opposition a leg up by doing

:18:03.:18:05.

things like that. It's a little contrast but it says a lot. You look

:18:06.:18:10.

at the decision-making in the game, I think that's where Ireland have

:18:11.:18:14.

the advantage over Wales. They are clinical. The half-backs do

:18:15.:18:18.

exceptionally well. The other kick against England should have gone

:18:19.:18:22.

into touch, two defensive errors against Scotland stepping out of the

:18:23.:18:26.

line. The decision-making has to improve. More decision-making here.

:18:27.:18:31.

Is this instinctive or just going to gameplay? This is really good play

:18:32.:18:35.

and Wales are a good team playing badly. Bit of pressure here and they

:18:36.:18:39.

release it, turnover with the off-load from Biggar. This is a

:18:40.:18:44.

great little piece of play from Rhys Webb. Heartbreak, off-load again,

:18:45.:18:50.

intercepted by a Scottish player. We've seen this from Wales this

:18:51.:18:54.

year. Same again, another line break, feeds Liam Williams, now

:18:55.:18:58.

turns it over by giving away a silly penalty. No need to give it. Now we

:18:59.:19:02.

have a five Metre Drive. Another great chance to score. That is a

:19:03.:19:08.

penalty and it's fairly easy for the referee to see. I think Wales are

:19:09.:19:12.

playing well but just giving the opposition a leg up. We saw that in

:19:13.:19:16.

the English game as well. Peter Stringer and Mike Phillips talking

:19:17.:19:20.

about Lions selection. Some interesting battles, Biggar against

:19:21.:19:24.

610 at ten, and at nine, Conor Murray against Rhys Webb. Probably

:19:25.:19:29.

the two players in pole position as far as the Lions are concerned. Talk

:19:30.:19:33.

about the strengths of these two guys. Highest compliment I can pay

:19:34.:19:39.

Conor Murray, I played with Terry Holmes, the greatest player ever,

:19:40.:19:43.

and he reminds me so much about him. His kicking game is exceptional, his

:19:44.:19:48.

passing game is good. He keeps the back row honest. I think that's his

:19:49.:19:51.

biggest attribute. He is brilliant at keeping the back row honest which

:19:52.:19:56.

gives space to the outside backs. He's a very different, Rhys Webb,

:19:57.:19:59.

he's clever, he watches where the props are, who is ball watching when

:20:00.:20:05.

he goes. They are different players and both at the moment in a key

:20:06.:20:10.

position for the Lions. I think they are very different and would bring

:20:11.:20:12.

something different to the Lions on their game. But they'll be key

:20:13.:20:17.

today. Again the packs have got to lay the foundation for them. That's

:20:18.:20:23.

important. He will be watching both players keenly. Warren Gatland.

:20:24.:20:30.

We've mention the Welsh players, a lot of them have got to play

:20:31.:20:35.

individually well to get recognised for the Lions. I think we can now

:20:36.:20:40.

hear from the Ireland coach. If Ireland lose here, that's it in the

:20:41.:20:43.

hunt for the title, so does that concentrate a few minds? I think the

:20:44.:20:48.

mines, you are playing Wales in a Test match, minds are pretty

:20:49.:20:52.

concentrated anyway. We've got a lot of respect for them. There's a bit

:20:53.:20:56.

of competitive nature. We all play in the Pro12 together. There's a lot

:20:57.:21:01.

of guys who have even played together in Lions teams, or play

:21:02.:21:05.

together on a weekly or annual basis in what is a huge fixture for us.

:21:06.:21:09.

I've just been outside and given the roof is shut, no rain on it but the

:21:10.:21:14.

pictures really wet, is that a concern for you? It's a surprise to

:21:15.:21:19.

us, certainly. We expected try conditions. I think it's been

:21:20.:21:23.

watered heavily, is the point. Yeah, well I guess we just adapt to the

:21:24.:21:30.

conditions and it might try out a bit before kick-off. It's certainly

:21:31.:21:33.

not what we expected. Wales have got their backs to the wall. What sort

:21:34.:21:37.

of game are you expecting to night given that they can ill afford to

:21:38.:21:42.

lose as well? Yeah. I think it won't be too different to be honest. As I

:21:43.:21:46.

said earlier it's the Wales Ireland Test match. They are always very

:21:47.:21:53.

competent. Therefore it's just ramped up a little bit. We can't

:21:54.:21:57.

afford to lose for different reasons they can't afford to lose either. So

:21:58.:22:02.

when you are both in a position like that, there's going to be a degree

:22:03.:22:05.

of desperation in the way that the game is played. It's probably going

:22:06.:22:15.

to be a scramble. Good luck. Thanks. Well, the outstanding player for

:22:16.:22:17.

Ireland so far in this championship has been the man from George in

:22:18.:22:21.

South Africa who went to the University of pictorial but who now

:22:22.:22:24.

considers himself almost as Irish as Keith Floyd.

:22:25.:22:35.

Growing up you would have wanted to play for the Springboks like any

:22:36.:22:41.

young South African? I was selected for a Springboks training camp. I

:22:42.:22:49.

was told I was too small. Was it as direct as that? There was talk about

:22:50.:22:57.

moving to hooker and trying me out there, I just felt that was not

:22:58.:23:00.

something for me. The opportunity came up to go to monster.

:23:01.:23:06.

-- to go to Munster. I said if you want to go, we will support you all

:23:07.:23:17.

the way. He is still playing there and has not moved to another

:23:18.:23:25.

position. When you moved did it enter into your head that you could

:23:26.:23:28.

play internationally for Ireland? In the beginning, no. When I started

:23:29.:23:32.

playing I could feel the passion from the players. I had that passion

:23:33.:23:37.

for the Munster jersey. If I could get into a team like that, it was

:23:38.:23:43.

unbelievable. A lot of pride for this jersey and people work hard to

:23:44.:23:49.

get here. The first try in Ireland covers for CJ Stander. We support

:23:50.:23:55.

him all the way. If he is playing for Ireland we will support Ireland.

:23:56.:24:01.

We are used to players standing up for the anthem, we wonder if they

:24:02.:24:05.

feel the same pride, you seem to feel it as much as anybody? It's a

:24:06.:24:10.

special song. I sat down and thought about maybe singing it, maybe not. I

:24:11.:24:14.

learned the song, I could see the history before it. He was summoned

:24:15.:24:20.

to push me every day to sing it. It got to a point when we were in a

:24:21.:24:26.

room, I was singing it. I didn't want to just go out and sing the

:24:27.:24:30.

words, anybody can do that. I want to show that I know what is going on

:24:31.:24:35.

here. Some people like it, some don't, but you can't keep everyone

:24:36.:24:40.

happy. When you hear criticism that you are depriving a genuinely Irish

:24:41.:24:44.

player of a place, do you understand that? I understand where that is

:24:45.:24:49.

coming from but I feel I have done my dues, I did not just come into

:24:50.:24:53.

the team straightaway, I went through Munster, learned the system.

:24:54.:25:00.

You can't keep everybody happy. Some days it's not good to hear but we

:25:01.:25:04.

are all professionals here. You have a job to do every weekend. Stander!

:25:05.:25:12.

Ooh, hat-trick for CJ Stander. You scored the hat-trick in that game

:25:13.:25:18.

the public that is my first hat-trick ever in any game.

:25:19.:25:26.

So it was a good feeling. Not something I worked towards. Just in

:25:27.:25:33.

the right place at the right time. Most of those tries were Conor

:25:34.:25:36.

Murray putting the in the right place. In the back row you will face

:25:37.:25:43.

a tough test? Year. Back row is one of the best in the world. Moriarty

:25:44.:25:48.

just acting and is doing a great job. Going to have to look after the

:25:49.:25:53.

boys like that because they bring magic to the game, all three of

:25:54.:25:57.

them. These are the games you want to play, you want to test yourself

:25:58.:26:00.

at its the best and know where you stand in the world. Playing Wales in

:26:01.:26:05.

Cardiff is going to be a tough job. Well, the spin box didn't want him

:26:06.:26:09.

because he was too small but he is six feet, one inches, 18 stone, are

:26:10.:26:14.

you glad he is Irish? We are quite happy to taken. The law is the law

:26:15.:26:22.

and he is a guy who is fully integrated into Limerick, into

:26:23.:26:26.

Munster and into the Ireland jersey. A quick word about what's going to

:26:27.:26:31.

happen here tonight. What's your instinct? My instinct is the way

:26:32.:26:36.

Ireland have been playing, their experience, for me they have the

:26:37.:26:40.

best half-backs combination in the competition with Murray and Sexton,

:26:41.:26:44.

that is the brains of the site. They have great organisational skills.

:26:45.:26:49.

Right attacking shed. They almost a doing. All the pieces are in place.

:26:50.:26:56.

They play with such intensity. Stander, his combination with Hislop

:26:57.:26:59.

and O'Brien, the work they get is phenomenal. These guys are another

:27:00.:27:04.

level. If that continues and Wales do not get up to the intensity that

:27:05.:27:07.

they found against England, it's Ireland all the way. Ireland

:27:08.:27:11.

obviously want to win, would like to win, need to win as far as next

:27:12.:27:15.

weekend is concerned. Is it fair to say, Martin, that Wales have to win

:27:16.:27:18.

tonight because of everything else that is going on around us? After

:27:19.:27:22.

the England game when Wales lost was a lot of sympathy because they

:27:23.:27:25.

played so well. That will go out the window tonight if Wales lose this

:27:26.:27:30.

game. The axe will be out again. By picking the same team I think that

:27:31.:27:33.

could galvanise Wales. All those players will just feel so

:27:34.:27:36.

galvanised, given a second opportunity to put their runs right

:27:37.:27:39.

at Murrayfield. But they've got to be smarter. They've been daft,

:27:40.:27:45.

particularly last week. If they're smart they could well win this game.

:27:46.:27:48.

Ireland have done the same, picked the same team for the very simple

:27:49.:27:52.

reason they think that the team that is able to dismantle the opposition,

:27:53.:27:56.

think their way around the field. Ireland haven't started well in the

:27:57.:27:59.

Six Nations this year. They are looking for a big start now. We can

:28:00.:28:05.

see Alun Wyn Jones, there. From the captaincy put a view, a lot of

:28:06.:28:09.

people were questioning Alun Wyn Jones and his leadership in the

:28:10.:28:12.

match of Scotland couple of weeks ago, he's got a point to prove

:28:13.:28:20.

tonight as well? Yeah, I guess we'll get a good feeling about what is

:28:21.:28:23.

going on. As a player in his performances I don't think he has to

:28:24.:28:28.

do any more than he is already. He is a high level consistent

:28:29.:28:31.

performer, world-class ranking. If he continues to do the same he's got

:28:32.:28:35.

a great chance of getting on the Lions tour, even captaining. 50 caps

:28:36.:28:40.

for Justin Tipuric, and an indication of the modern game that

:28:41.:28:44.

he has actually only started 24 games for Wales but it's his 50th

:28:45.:28:47.

cap tonight. Didn't happen in your days, Keith. Absolutely not. It's a

:28:48.:28:54.

great time and a great moment for him. You always wanted to start. You

:28:55.:28:59.

never wanted to come off, you never wanted to give a guy and easy cap.

:29:00.:29:07.

There are no easy caps any more. It has been the poorest part of the

:29:08.:29:10.

Welsh team, there has been no impact off the bench whatsoever. They need

:29:11.:29:15.

a big impact figure to win this. We've had a rousing rendition of

:29:16.:29:19.

Delilah. Now we've got a rousing rendition of pyrotechnics as well.

:29:20.:29:23.

The teams are going to line up in just a moment or so. I think it is

:29:24.:29:27.

fair to say the jury is still out a bit on Friday night internationals

:29:28.:29:31.

and I'm sure one or two people in the crowd this evening are cursing

:29:32.:29:36.

spending half the day getting over the Severn Bridge. I think there was

:29:37.:29:40.

14 miles of stationary traffic. But once you get here, the atmosphere is

:29:41.:29:44.

fantastic, and what a great way to kick off the sporting weekend for

:29:45.:29:48.

all of us, because we've got some tantalising FA Cup ties on BBC over

:29:49.:29:51.

the weekend and obviously some appalling rugby internationals today

:29:52.:29:52.

and tomorrow. Amid the anticipation and excitement

:29:53.:30:02.

we have moments that force all of us to pause and reflect. We will have a

:30:03.:30:08.

moment's applause for three members of the Welsh rugby community who

:30:09.:30:15.

have died. The former captain Lloyd Williams, one of eight brothers who

:30:16.:30:19.

played for Cardiff who died this week at the age of 83. Emeris Evans.

:30:20.:30:37.

And the Welsh international Ellie who also died at about accident, the

:30:38.:30:42.

youngest of all players in 2014 World Cup. She was just 20 years

:30:43.:30:47.

old. The applause will celebrate their lives and love of and

:30:48.:30:48.

contribution to the game. enormously and moving tribute to the

:30:49.:32:10.

three people who have lost their lives.

:32:11.:32:13.

National pride and potential titles at stake in a moment. Commentary

:32:14.:32:18.

will come from Jonathan Davies, Paul O'Connell and Eddie Butler, after

:32:19.:32:20.

the anthems. # Come the day and come the hour

:32:21.:32:24.

Come the power and the glory # We have come to answer

:32:25.:32:30.

Our country's call # From the four proud provinces of

:32:31.:32:39.

# Ireland, Ireland Together standing tall

:32:40.:32:48.

# Shoulder to shoulder We'll answer Ireland's call

:32:49.:33:01.

# Ireland, Ireland Together standing tall

:33:02.:33:07.

# Shoulder to shoulder We'll answer Ireland's call

:33:08.:33:19.

# Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi

:33:20.:33:48.

# Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri

:33:49.:33:59.

# Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mad

:34:00.:34:16.

Friday night rugby at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff,

:34:17.:35:11.

Wales at home to Ireland, Ireland in the hunt for the title.

:35:12.:35:15.

Wales with something to prove after two defeats. Alun Wyn Jones wears

:35:16.:35:23.

five, the captain. Wales head for the corner. It is the same Welsh

:35:24.:35:34.

team that face Scotland. Not so much a vote of confidence as a demand to

:35:35.:35:40.

make amends. They 50th cap for Justin Tipuric. George North's

:35:41.:35:47.

singled out as one who must do more. High risk man management. Rhys Webb

:35:48.:35:51.

singled out as a scrum-half in prime form. Ireland are also unchanged. It

:35:52.:36:02.

is a vote confidence. In forwards like CJ Stander nobody has carried

:36:03.:36:07.

more than him in the Six Nations. Keith Earls has scored five tries in

:36:08.:36:12.

his last five games. Conor Murray against Rhys Webb could be a

:36:13.:36:22.

personal duel of the championship. Paddy Jackson has been the most

:36:23.:36:27.

successful kick in test rugby in the past year. Sam Davies will bring his

:36:28.:36:29.

running game to the last quarter. Tonight's referee from England.

:36:30.:36:55.

Wales in red, Ireland in green, a traditional Celtic fixture. Joe

:36:56.:37:05.

Schmidt, Rob Howley, the coaches. Round 4 of the Six Nations. Wales

:37:06.:37:15.

against Ireland. Simon Zebo waits, catches.

:37:16.:37:21.

Conor Murray. Safely into touch. Good evening, Paul O'Connell. Good

:37:22.:37:33.

evening, very interesting, Ireland were ready to lift Robbie Henshaw

:37:34.:37:40.

and Garry Ringrose. The front line covered. Wales weblog. Justin

:37:41.:37:45.

Tipuric within the line-out ball. So nearly an interception.

:37:46.:37:52.

Ireland have stolen it. Rory Best. The first turnover to the men in

:37:53.:38:04.

green. Johnny Sexton on the loop and longer

:38:05.:38:22.

to Simon Zebo. Down goes Leigh Halfpenny. George North, having been

:38:23.:38:31.

quiet against Scotland, has everything to do against Ireland in

:38:32.:38:32.

the first minute and a half. They brief moment of calm allowing

:38:33.:38:46.

Rhys Webb to kick as far as Keith Earls only.

:38:47.:38:55.

Scrum advantage Ireland. The tallest man on the pitch, Devin Toner.

:38:56.:39:09.

You will see a feud rocked balls. All the chat about the roof, they

:39:10.:39:18.

watered the pitch today and the ball is like a bar of soap. There has

:39:19.:39:21.

been a lot of dropped ball already. One interesting thing I saw, Sean

:39:22.:39:32.

O'Brien did the same as against England. It was a tackle and he went

:39:33.:39:39.

in between. Between nine and ten of Wales. They must be careful because

:39:40.:39:44.

Ireland might adapt and varied that tactic.

:39:45.:39:58.

Sweet ball for Conor Murray from the scrummage.

:39:59.:40:10.

Good tackle on CJ Stander by Sam Warburton.

:40:11.:40:27.

Wales trying to hold up. Islands do get it to ground. Sean O'Brien,

:40:28.:40:40.

again. High it goes from Sexton and George North is underneath it.

:40:41.:40:47.

Good covering work by Rhys Webb on the ground.

:40:48.:41:03.

We can breed. Interesting the variety of Sexton's play, going wide

:41:04.:41:22.

first of all from a runaround and then a little move from the first

:41:23.:41:30.

set piece, and when the ball is slow, a brilliant kick. It is

:41:31.:41:31.

competition time. And attacking throw. Rory Best the

:41:32.:41:42.

captain between Wales' ten metre line and their 22.

:41:43.:41:53.

Devin Toner in the middle of the field and options either side. CJ

:41:54.:42:00.

Stander could not get it away, advantage Ireland. The knock-on

:42:01.:42:08.

followed by a high tackle. Scrum becomes a penalty. Big line speed

:42:09.:42:17.

from Wales. A challenge for Ireland to hold onto the ball if Wales are

:42:18.:42:25.

getting off the line really hard. Going back into the autumn, Ireland

:42:26.:42:28.

would have taken these into the corner every time and at the start

:42:29.:42:32.

of the championship these kicks have gone to the corner so an interesting

:42:33.:42:37.

change of tactic. There was a knock-on in the tackle. The Irish

:42:38.:42:44.

attack asking questions of the Wales defence. Keeping them honest with

:42:45.:42:51.

inside balls. Good line speed. This is the respect they have. They play

:42:52.:42:55.

against each other so offered in the Pro12, they know each other well. --

:42:56.:42:58.

so often. Not a breath of wind in the stadium.

:42:59.:43:12.

There is still a layer of smoke from the fireworks above the head of

:43:13.:43:13.

Johnny Sexton. It held its line and Ireland take

:43:14.:43:30.

the lead. Looking across the front line of

:43:31.:43:52.

Ireland, Jamie Heaslip was ready to lift Henshaw and Rory Best ready to

:43:53.:43:57.

lift Garry Ringrose. Instead, again it is Zebo who takes the ball.

:43:58.:44:01.

George North is the first to arrive. Another interception. Dan Biggar's

:44:02.:44:29.

pass picked off by Johnny Sexton. The touchline a refuge for Wales.

:44:30.:44:49.

Great line speed from Ireland doing what Wales are doing to them.

:44:50.:44:54.

Excellent intercept. Well played and Earls puts it into the corner. Great

:44:55.:44:58.

line speed, very clever. The second time. They have to hold their depth

:44:59.:45:05.

or run inside shoulder. They can see the guy going for the intercept. Ken

:45:06.:45:15.

Owens. A defensive operation here. Ross Moriarty. The first charge for

:45:16.:45:21.

the number eight. It has got to be offside. The old Italian tactic.

:45:22.:45:32.

That was a ruck. New Zealand vary it because they shout out tackle all

:45:33.:45:38.

ruck. On that occasion, clearly a ruck. When they do it they let the

:45:39.:45:40.

referee no. There is a case to be made. Once he

:45:41.:46:02.

is back up competing it is a ruck, now.

:46:03.:46:07.

Wales have found space. George North smashes through Rob Kearney. Keeping

:46:08.:46:27.

the ball alive in the field of play. Robbie Henshaw with a crunching

:46:28.:47:00.

tackle. Leith -- Leigh Halfpenny was outside

:47:01.:47:40.

George North. Alun Wyn Jones. He can go on.

:47:41.:47:50.

Rhys Webb was on his own. The defence saw him coming. Good

:47:51.:47:55.

presentation. Moriarty drove it up. Through the

:47:56.:48:06.

forwards again, through Evans. Wales suddenly go from left to

:48:07.:48:18.

right. Rory Best with the tackle and

:48:19.:48:47.

Ireland double up to stop any further progress. Has it gone

:48:48.:48:55.

forward, it has. Excellent Ireland 's defence. Some massive hits from

:48:56.:49:04.

Ireland but Wales, somebody could play, they held the ball and kept

:49:05.:49:08.

going at them and made yards. Eventually Ireland forced the error.

:49:09.:49:14.

Big moment to see Sean O'Brien. It is voracious. You can hear their

:49:15.:49:19.

hits. The grasping from the crowd. As a Welshman, to see the ball in

:49:20.:49:25.

George North's hand. He is looking angry, ball in hand he looks

:49:26.:49:26.

dangerous. Johnny Sexton finds touch. It has

:49:27.:49:40.

been a breathless start. A lot of that breath has been knocked out of

:49:41.:49:45.

the players. Jonathan Davies that was a noncontact situation but, for

:49:46.:49:49.

domain, it has been about this. Line speed of both sides is fantastic.

:49:50.:49:59.

Zebo high to Keith Earls, puts it in an awkward position. He had no

:50:00.:50:03.

option but to kick. Good line speed from even Devin

:50:04.:50:10.

Toner. Zebo hazard! Skips out of the tackle

:50:11.:50:43.

of Rob Evans. It is a 22 drop out. Well played by Dan Biggar. Not the

:50:44.:50:49.

position you want to be in. When it rolled dead? And Irish player

:50:50.:50:56.

following year. He watches, goes to ground, and cajoles the ball over

:50:57.:51:02.

the line. Very good play. The perfect way to kick. He waits and

:51:03.:51:07.

waits. Brilliant play, brilliant play. Dangerous but brilliant. Cool

:51:08.:51:15.

nerves. Absolutely. Great play. And he is back on his feet. Sending

:51:16.:51:21.

it long down over the halfway line and Keith Earls waiting. Sexton

:51:22.:51:26.

sending it high, up into the layer of smoke. It has gone loose from Dan

:51:27.:51:35.

Biggar. Scott Williams cannot stop CJ Stander. He will not be stopped.

:51:36.:51:43.

Ireland five metres from the Welsh line. It is a penalty advantage to

:51:44.:51:48.

Ireland. Rob Kearney. Penalty advantage still being

:51:49.:52:08.

played. It is out of play. Ireland with no advantage. Penalty kick. He

:52:09.:52:14.

is lucky. It could have been a yellow card. That is in the red

:52:15.:52:21.

zone. What a run by this guy. We are getting used to it every week. Again

:52:22.:52:27.

going to the corner. Every time now they seem to back themselves to

:52:28.:52:35.

score from five metres out. Early in the game two years ago when we lost

:52:36.:52:38.

at the Millennium Stadium, and it will be interesting to see if

:52:39.:52:42.

Ireland can pull it off. Jack McGrath and Rory Best conferring.

:52:43.:52:50.

Ross Moriarty comes away with it and has a charge at Johnny Sexton. That

:52:51.:52:54.

is not what Ireland's outside-half wanted. Wales can clear their lines.

:52:55.:53:03.

Not Dan Biggar's best but it bounces and it could go anywhere and

:53:04.:53:10.

Warburton arrived first. Ireland do well to get the ball away. Rory

:53:11.:53:16.

Best, for a moment there was an over lap.

:53:17.:53:32.

Sexton again went high, towards the posts, trying to land it in front of

:53:33.:53:41.

them. It has gone dead. A big moment. Five metre Drive. He steals

:53:42.:53:48.

it. Outstanding play. When you are five metres out it is a tough place

:53:49.:53:52.

to defend and if you can turn the ball over it is a big moment, a

:53:53.:53:59.

relief. A scrum to Wales now. Thinking of Wales in Scotland,

:54:00.:54:03.

kicked for the corner and nothing came of it and here it goes wrong.

:54:04.:54:10.

Alun Wyn Jones. The skipper. At the opposite end of the field two years

:54:11.:54:14.

ago Sam Warburton stole one from us and it was such a big moment in the

:54:15.:54:21.

game. You have to put a check on the Irish line speed. You have to turn

:54:22.:54:28.

them by a chip or grubber kick because it is causing problems for

:54:29.:54:30.

the Welsh attack. Wales making ground at the scrum.

:54:31.:54:49.

They could have numbers. That was well read by Johnny Sexton.

:54:50.:54:53.

Preventing the tackle being made. Toner brought down by Warburton.

:54:54.:55:09.

Sexton stays down. Murray hat to clear.

:55:10.:55:15.

Johnny Sexton will have time to get himself sorted. A couple of big

:55:16.:55:27.

tackles. I saw Sam Warburton's eyes light up when he saw the chance to

:55:28.:55:31.

smash Sexton earlier. He goes to ground. I think he copped one on the

:55:32.:55:37.

eye, look at his left eye. The left knee. I do not know what he

:55:38.:56:00.

did. It is an undignified place for and outside-half. He seems to be in

:56:01.:56:08.

the wars every game. It is not something Ireland need in a big game

:56:09.:56:13.

like this. We want the experienced man on the field. Paddy Jackson will

:56:14.:56:19.

come on, because Johnny Sexton has to go off for the head injury

:56:20.:56:24.

assessment. I am sure he will be OK. He has had a huge influence so far,

:56:25.:56:30.

the variety of his play, asking questions of the Welsh defence. They

:56:31.:56:32.

are coping admirably at the moment. It is sort of the name of the game,

:56:33.:57:27.

really. I heard Wayne Barnes describe it as a rugby collision. He

:57:28.:57:39.

has come all the way from New Zealand. He wants to be here on

:57:40.:57:43.

television! Now, now. Always worth a check. Jonathan Davies relieved it

:57:44.:57:58.

did not go against him. Off we go again and Ken Owens throwing. Sam

:57:59.:58:03.

Warburton wins the line-out. Scott Williams is through. A long pass to

:58:04.:58:12.

Leigh Halfpenny. To George North. North is back with a vengeance! It

:58:13.:58:25.

is like they listen to Jeremy Guscott pre-match analysis. He was

:58:26.:58:32.

just beside Scott Williams as he made the break. Here he is. That is

:58:33.:58:37.

what Jeremy Guscott was talking about. Fantastic pass. And a great

:58:38.:58:42.

finish. This is what you want to see. What a finish, a brilliant

:58:43.:58:48.

finish. I am happy to see great support play. Brilliant vision. This

:58:49.:58:55.

is the support they have lacked impasse games. What a finish. What

:58:56.:59:00.

does it mean to the wing to be back in that fashion? Joe Schmidt talked

:59:01.:59:10.

about George North. A world-class player that does not play well, do

:59:11.:59:15.

you assume he will not play well again? Probably not. He is a

:59:16.:59:21.

fantastic player and this was the worry for Ireland. Welsh players,

:59:22.:59:25.

world-class players criticised all week. They were always going to

:59:26.:59:27.

respond. Set piece play but one of the tries

:59:28.:59:44.

of the championship so far, and it has been a good championship. All

:59:45.:59:48.

the way through there have been talking points, intrigue, drama.

:59:49.:59:53.

Leigh Halfpenny. He misses the conversion. Wales, though, are in

:59:54.:59:59.

the lead. One of the great skills. How late he delivers the pass. Rhys

:00:00.:00:06.

Webb gives the past late. He has the vision to go wide and that is what

:00:07.:00:10.

has been lacking, the support play. But that had some finishing to do

:00:11.:00:16.

and what a finish. Very well taken by Rob Kearney. Ireland up to the 22

:00:17.:00:25.

through Devin Toner. And forced back. Paddy Jackson has gone

:00:26.:00:28.

forward. Halfpenny says, let's get downfield

:00:29.:00:46.

but only as far as Rob Kearney. Rare for the Irish fullback. Does not

:00:47.:00:49.

catch it at the first attempt, but does at the second. Dan Biggar has

:00:50.:00:56.

two scamper back. A manufactured difficult kick. A very good kick.

:00:57.:01:06.

Fantastic kick by Dan Biggar. Ireland are winning the aerial

:01:07.:01:15.

battle. They are getting the better of the high-kicking game. Warren

:01:16.:01:24.

Gatland. An onlooker. Purely in a Lions capacity, of course. Rory Best

:01:25.:01:30.

with bruises. From the fray. A good drive from Ireland. The first

:01:31.:01:47.

time they have varied their tactic. Taking on Wales upfront. Conor

:01:48.:01:57.

Murray goes back to the aerial game. North coming forward for it.

:01:58.:02:04.

Crossing in front. The aerial game continues to go Ireland's way. It is

:02:05.:02:10.

one thing you have to do when you play Wales over here. They are

:02:11.:02:17.

pumped up, coached by Shaun Edwards, you know you will meet the line

:02:18.:02:22.

speed. Often you take their opportunities of a for line speed by

:02:23.:02:26.

kicking and you will see kicking early in the game. This is the

:02:27.:02:29.

obstruction. There we are. Rhys Webb. That is a silly play because

:02:30.:02:39.

they did not take the kick off, put him under pressure and now another

:02:40.:02:46.

penalty. A good long kick. Devin Toner setting up the maul.

:02:47.:02:51.

They will have some counter driving to do to stop this Irish maul. CJ

:02:52.:02:59.

Stander has his hand on it. Five metres short, two metres short.

:03:00.:03:13.

Conor Murray weights. One metre short now, right at the corner.

:03:14.:03:24.

Murray looks at all the options. CJ Stander is just about held back.

:03:25.:03:31.

Murray again, so dangerous from short range. Back to five metres

:03:32.:03:36.

away from the Welsh goal-line. Jamie Heaslip driven back by Biggar and

:03:37.:03:47.

Sam Warburton. No advantage, penalty Ireland. Interesting, what would you

:03:48.:03:51.

do? It will be interesting. Let's see where it is. From there you will

:03:52.:03:57.

probably go for the corner. I reckon they will definitely go for the

:03:58.:04:03.

corner. There is no hesitation. This comes from a clumsy penalty by Rhys

:04:04.:04:09.

Webb. Wales giving teams a leg up with silly bits of play. They've had

:04:10.:04:13.

some amazing play but that is really clumsy. Five metres from the line.

:04:14.:04:25.

Toner again sets up the driving maul.

:04:26.:04:31.

CJ Stander against Tipuric. Another penalty against Tipuric. He's got to

:04:32.:04:51.

release the ball when he's tackled him. Caution wins the day and

:04:52.:05:04.

Ireland are going for the posts. It's an easier kick as well. Take

:05:05.:05:09.

the three points and put your nose in front. Got to release, haven't

:05:10.:05:15.

they? Paddy Jackson, well, he can't miss

:05:16.:05:35.

at the moment. I would not wish to put the curse on him. 13 out of his

:05:36.:05:44.

last 13. 14 out of 14. Ireland take the lead at the printer parity

:05:45.:05:47.

stadium. Sexton is back on as well. Wales

:05:48.:06:05.

playing really well but it's very hard when they give them like that.

:06:06.:06:11.

Johnny Sexton back on. Conor Murray. Two men waiting to

:06:12.:06:16.

lift and Zito must be 30 yards back. Just drop it behind the guy waiting

:06:17.:06:50.

to catch, he's in the 22, it's an easy clearance for Conor Murray.

:06:51.:07:02.

Biggar again, it's another interception. Johnny Sexton is

:07:03.:07:10.

reading the Welsh place. Comes away with it. Scott Williams, it's

:07:11.:07:17.

another interception by Keith earls. So, Wales are playing a flat game

:07:18.:07:21.

but it's a dangerous game and Ireland are picking them off.

:07:22.:07:27.

Serious line speed, it will be interesting to see if he was onside.

:07:28.:07:35.

Exchanging some verbals. If you see someone running out of the line

:07:36.:07:38.

you've got to try and get inside of Johnny Sexton, there. You've got to

:07:39.:07:45.

get an inside ball, early pass. You can see what the Irish are doing.

:07:46.:07:49.

Running up and making a nuisance of themselves on the line. Suffocating

:07:50.:07:55.

them for space. That's why at this stage of the game sometimes you've

:07:56.:08:00.

got to kick the ball a little bit more. Wait until the running has got

:08:01.:08:04.

out of their legs a little bit. Ross Moriarty from a steady scrum.

:08:05.:08:21.

Biggar again, prepared to go through the hands. Scott Williams takes it

:08:22.:08:23.

up. Liam Williams at scrum-half. Wales going the full width of the

:08:24.:08:50.

pitch. Webb. Little bit of progress now but slowed up by Ireland. Alun

:08:51.:08:53.

Wyn Jones. Biggar to Tipuric. Biggar hard and

:08:54.:09:17.

flat to George North. Conor Murray is down. Looks to be his wrist he is

:09:18.:09:27.

clutching. Wales in possession. Biggar back for the kick, here is

:09:28.:09:31.

the change in tactics. Leigh Halfpenny takes off against Zito.

:09:32.:09:41.

Doesn't look good for Conor Murray. Big collision. Here it is. Big

:09:42.:09:55.

collision, hard to see what happened. We see him a lot wider

:09:56.:10:02.

since Andy Farrell has taken over with Ireland and he's very good and

:10:03.:10:08.

reads the game very well. Could be a bad injury for a lot of teams, not

:10:09.:10:15.

just Ireland, but for Munster and the Lions as well. The thing is,

:10:16.:10:20.

George North has got good feet. Just got his head on the alongside,

:10:21.:10:23.

caught the hip. His body angle was wrong. On one thing, it's so good to

:10:24.:10:31.

see him wanting the ball. On the Irish defence, Johnny Sexton

:10:32.:10:36.

sprinting out of the line, Wales have got to work this out. You've

:10:37.:10:43.

got to put inside ball, outside ball because if he shoots out of the

:10:44.:10:48.

line, that's where the gaps are. One of the themes of this 6-nation, a

:10:49.:10:53.

puzzle posed and then asking the question, find your way out of this

:10:54.:10:58.

one. Italy against England and now how do Wales escape from the

:10:59.:11:05.

intercepted pass situation? This is Wales at their best, George North

:11:06.:11:09.

scoring. Three times they have been intercepted. You need problem

:11:10.:11:14.

solvers on the pitch that can give them the information. The big thing

:11:15.:11:20.

is to get a man off the shoulder of Dan Biggar and he doesn't have to

:11:21.:11:26.

throw the long pass. He can throw the short, tight pass if he needs

:11:27.:11:31.

to. The former Wales captain, there he is, Colin.

:11:32.:11:40.

Conor Murray, his bicep seems to be OK. For the moment.

:11:41.:12:18.

Good scrummage for Wales. George North gets over the advantage line.

:12:19.:12:27.

Moriarty gets a little further over the advantage line. Biggar. Goes

:12:28.:12:36.

through the lakes of big, tall Devin Toner. Onto the Irish 22. Webb has a

:12:37.:12:45.

little look himself, feeds Jake Ball and meter into the Irish 22. The

:12:46.:12:50.

past two more Conor Murray can't track him down.

:12:51.:13:17.

Definitely holding his left arm at the moment. Looks like it. Webb,

:13:18.:13:26.

long, gets away with it to Tipuric. Wales a yard back from the 22. They

:13:27.:13:34.

find a way into the 22. Forward pass. Very well-placed. Just to see

:13:35.:13:41.

how important Johnny Sexton is to the team. Making an awful lot of

:13:42.:13:52.

tackles. He is obviously a fantastic attacker, kicks well, directs the

:13:53.:13:55.

team around the pitch. Dig leader defensively as well. The pass, Rhys

:13:56.:14:04.

Webb to Liam Williams, Ford. Top tackler for Ireland. But that's

:14:05.:14:14.

good for Wales, if he's tackling, he's less effective in attack. Taken

:14:15.:14:23.

on Bone and he's been off, Conor Murray has taken a blow. Always nice

:14:24.:14:27.

to have your half-backs on the opposite side a bit beaten up. Good

:14:28.:14:47.

Irish scrum, solid. It came up just before 90, it turned on its axis.

:14:48.:14:52.

It's great to see scrum is not going down, really solid scrums and teams

:14:53.:15:00.

being able to play and have a go at the scrum. Rory Best with the white

:15:01.:15:06.

scrum cap, Ken Owens opposite him. Furlong, one of the breakthrough

:15:07.:15:17.

players of the Irish game, of the European game.

:15:18.:15:24.

No progress for the flanker. Sexton says enough now, let's clear for the

:15:25.:15:52.

kick. Good pressure from Scott Williams. That has gone high.

:15:53.:15:59.

Halfpenny comes for it but Rob Kearney beats him to it and then is

:16:00.:16:08.

put down by Liam Williams. Dancing his way in Field, 15 metres.

:16:09.:16:19.

Bracelet, that was bound to happen. Tadhg Furlong drops the ball.

:16:20.:16:27.

Commentator's curse again. We've seen quite if you've dropped balls.

:16:28.:16:34.

Here it is. Very unlike him. Rob Kearney has been sensational in the

:16:35.:16:42.

air. I suppose all the chat about the fallback position is about

:16:43.:16:44.

Stuart Hogg at the moment. But he is absolutely world-class in the air.

:16:45.:16:50.

Two standout players so far in the competition, Warburton and CJ

:16:51.:16:56.

Stander. They are giving it everything against each other.

:16:57.:17:08.

Looks as though Conor Murray is not very comfortable. He is negotiating

:17:09.:17:21.

with the doctor now. They don't want him going off, do they? Less than

:17:22.:17:26.

five minutes to half time, see if he can stay on and assess him at

:17:27.:17:27.

half-time. Exactly. Put in for Wales. Good position.

:17:28.:17:43.

Plenty of room on both sides. Left-hand side of the field. Our

:17:44.:17:51.

nearside is empty. Liam Williams is standing directly behind the scrum.

:17:52.:18:00.

Ross Moriarty gets it out. Here is Liam Williams, one-on-one against

:18:01.:18:11.

Kiefer also. -- against Keith earls. Liam Williams has made good ground

:18:12.:18:18.

into the Irish 22. Webb looks up. It is through the forwards. Alun Wyn

:18:19.:18:28.

Jones almost squirmed out of the tackle. Biggar. There is the change

:18:29.:18:37.

of direction. Scott Williams. Webb, short to Tipuric. Gets the pass

:18:38.:18:39.

away. Moriarty. Jake Ball again. Good Irish defence,

:18:40.:18:56.

stops the lock in his tracks. Wales keeping it tight. Not many options

:18:57.:19:09.

of width. This is where division has got to be. Warburton, Jake Ball.

:19:10.:19:14.

Penalty for Wales at last. Jonathan Davies a foot short. Advantage

:19:15.:19:25.

again, yellow card. Clearly killed the ball on the line.

:19:26.:19:52.

Johnny Sexton is going into the bin, clearly killing the ball on the

:19:53.:20:00.

line. Williams gives him a pat. Wayne Barnes gave Wales the option.

:20:01.:20:05.

Penalty in the corner or in front of the posts. They are taking the one

:20:06.:20:12.

in front of the posts. If I was the kicker I think I would take the same

:20:13.:20:15.

option. Further option by Rhys Webb. You look at nine and ten of Ireland,

:20:16.:20:22.

they are looking for half-time. He's off for ten minutes, Conor Murray

:20:23.:20:29.

will have to be looked at. It's a patch up job.

:20:30.:20:38.

I'm surprised Wales didn't try and get the ball wide. They hadn't

:20:39.:20:42.

identified Conor Murray was struggling. That is the kind of

:20:43.:20:49.

things the Kiwis are good at doing, identifying injured players and

:20:50.:20:52.

running at them. Getting treatment now. I think if Wales had managed to

:20:53.:20:58.

get out and stopped Williams running at him or Jonathan Davies running at

:20:59.:21:01.

him, he wouldn't have been able to make the tackle. As it is Leigh

:21:02.:21:07.

Halfpenny lands the penalty. It has been an exhilarating half, it's had

:21:08.:21:11.

a bit of everything. They very near try. Jonathan Davies so close to the

:21:12.:21:17.

line. Jonathan Sexton on the ground. He is caught there. No place for an

:21:18.:21:22.

outside-half to be, really. He cannot get out of there. There's no

:21:23.:21:28.

way he can get out. Wayne Barnes saying a few times, you are holding

:21:29.:21:36.

him in. Tough call. It means Simon Zebo has to take the restart down

:21:37.:21:47.

the middle. Dan Biggar waits. Zebo back.

:21:48.:21:55.

Murray is not comfortable. Left arm left hanging by itself. And again.

:21:56.:22:14.

Henshaw held up. Jack McGrath does very well from an unpromising start

:22:15.:22:19.

to make ground. CJ Stander very good at making ground. Sean O'Brien. Zebo

:22:20.:22:25.

again. Easier for Murray to pass that way.

:22:26.:22:42.

Keith Earls the tackle of Rhys Webb. Jake Ball try to get over the ball.

:22:43.:22:51.

Still therefore Ireland. Taking it up. Henshaw again. Heaslip knocks it

:22:52.:23:02.

on, comes loose, bounces away from Rob Kearney. Not on, half-time.

:23:03.:23:09.

Well, there haven't been that many points but it's been full of just

:23:10.:23:13.

about everything you want from a Friday night game in the Six

:23:14.:23:14.

Nations. STUDIO: What a fantastic half of

:23:15.:23:29.

rugby. Only one try, from George North. He had been on a final

:23:30.:23:35.

warning to improve, goodness me, he answered his critics this evening.

:23:36.:23:38.

I'm sure it's the kind of Friday night game where a lot of you said,

:23:39.:23:41.

we'll watch the first 15 minutes and then we'll go out, and you are still

:23:42.:23:47.

in front of the telly, not going anywhere. 141 tackles made in that

:23:48.:23:52.

first half. One of the most fascinating things, I've got some

:23:53.:23:56.

paper in my hand which shows the first 15 minutes, 57 tackles made in

:23:57.:24:05.

the first 11 minutes. 42 of them by Ireland. The first ten minutes or so

:24:06.:24:10.

was extraordinary. Absolutely crazy game of rugby. The tension from the

:24:11.:24:17.

start was fantastic. The line speed of both teams, targeting each other,

:24:18.:24:22.

huge contact. You could hear the noise appear it was incredible.

:24:23.:24:30.

There is precious little score but it is unbelievably competitive. Your

:24:31.:24:35.

eyes are lighting up. You were a rhino but some of these tackles were

:24:36.:24:39.

ferocious. There was a series of hits. It built up. The first couple

:24:40.:24:45.

of minutes was a bit quiet and suddenly this, biggest man on the

:24:46.:24:55.

field targeted. A little bit high, there. It is absolutely brutal out

:24:56.:25:06.

there. Sean O'Brien. It is just absolutely brutal. Fantastic to

:25:07.:25:11.

watch. Wales going through the phases, doing everything they

:25:12.:25:16.

possibly can but it is brick wall, brick wall, brick wall. These are

:25:17.:25:20.

not tackles, these are hits. These are hits and this is one passage of

:25:21.:25:25.

play. 21 carries, one minute of play. Nine or ten hits in this that

:25:26.:25:31.

just shudder everything. Almost some fear in the eyes. That sums up

:25:32.:25:38.

Wales. We will do the try later. When they go through phases, seven

:25:39.:25:41.

or eight, they really stall. Ultimately ends in a mistake. Sexton

:25:42.:25:49.

ended up getting a yellow card. Talk us through the Welsh attack. From a

:25:50.:25:54.

scrum, how are they operating there tonight? They've got a great

:25:55.:25:59.

opportunity. It's just a case of fixed the man, draw the man, leave

:26:00.:26:03.

the space on the outside. Unfortunately they don't manage

:26:04.:26:09.

that. It's just poor execution. There's no other option left from

:26:10.:26:12.

Liam Williams other to knock it in field. No doubt Wales have attacked

:26:13.:26:24.

a lot better tonight. These opportunities, you just hope from a

:26:25.:26:28.

Welsh point of view, this doesn't come back to haunt them. The manner

:26:29.:26:31.

in which Ireland are defending, they are changing, rushing up very

:26:32.:26:37.

quickly. In all honesty you can't give the defence credit, if you drew

:26:38.:26:42.

them with the running lines they would have been stuck and fixed. The

:26:43.:26:46.

rush defence is extraordinary. Rush defence at different times, in that

:26:47.:26:51.

instance they drifted across the field. Because they weren't fixed.

:26:52.:26:56.

And they did not have to rush up. Let's talk about implementing and

:26:57.:27:01.

execution and George North's try. They scored a fantastic try against

:27:02.:27:06.

England from first phase. Moriarty has given the past. Look at the

:27:07.:27:10.

options he has got. Rather than going to Williams, going to Scott

:27:11.:27:16.

Williams, he goes in. Everybody is shouting to the ball, and thankfully

:27:17.:27:21.

the execution gets them into space. The power North users, he has used

:27:22.:27:26.

everything he has got to get over. You showed this earlier and there

:27:27.:27:31.

was no positive runner. Rhys Webb continues the line, expecting the

:27:32.:27:36.

break. He has the confidence to find Halfpenny and this is what you want

:27:37.:27:40.

to see, George North, he has had so many more touches in this game to

:27:41.:27:46.

night. He is an absolute beast. Joe Schmidt in the interview before the

:27:47.:27:50.

game said he thought George North had been unfairly criticised before

:27:51.:27:53.

the Scotland game and he probably would have a great game tonight. He

:27:54.:27:58.

looked so miserable two weeks ago but he has been smiling and involved

:27:59.:28:03.

in everything. Show more in this game. We are on Lions watch in

:28:04.:28:09.

specific positions. Rhys Webb, what kind of game has he had? Anything

:28:10.:28:15.

good in attack Rhys Webb is involved with. He is fired up tonight. That

:28:16.:28:19.

one is a penalty. Going over the next. This is a silly penalty. Such

:28:20.:28:27.

a killer for Wales. It was a definite penalty, he knows exactly

:28:28.:28:31.

what he is doing. Those little errors keeping Ireland in the game.

:28:32.:28:37.

Just keep hold of the ball. He gives it. After 11 or 12 phases. Great

:28:38.:28:44.

kick which almost resulted in a try. Beautifully weighted kick. You

:28:45.:28:52.

thought they were in fall money. He pins in Sexton and he can't get out.

:28:53.:28:57.

We will talk about the Sexton yellow card, at the end of his performance

:28:58.:29:00.

generally, is he the complete outside-half now? Yeah, he has

:29:01.:29:07.

everything in his skills draw, as it were, he can do anything. He

:29:08.:29:13.

executes well. That is his DNA, the looping move he used to do so well

:29:14.:29:18.

with O'Driscoll. What we get with Sexton, the idea, the option, the

:29:19.:29:21.

decision and the execution is generally nine out of ten. That's

:29:22.:29:26.

why he is so consistent. Right on the money, giving the chasers

:29:27.:29:31.

opportunity to compete. O'Gara before him was brilliant and he's

:29:32.:29:39.

managed to take over that mantle. He's a fantastic player, he reads

:29:40.:29:44.

the game so well. Able to dismantle. The only thing I don't like about

:29:45.:29:48.

him is, he gets stuck into much of the rough stuff. He's always in the

:29:49.:29:55.

middle of it. He got trapped. He did hold on himself, had a bit of a

:29:56.:29:58.

pool, got trapped in the middle. Always a yellow card. I'm sure many

:29:59.:30:04.

Irish fans are thinking it was a bad call but we ought to say, in the

:30:05.:30:07.

context of the game as a whole, Wayne Barnes has had a magnificent

:30:08.:30:12.

games. He is not loved in Ireland, he is having a fine game tonight.

:30:13.:30:18.

From the Welsh point of view, how happy are you? You expect a reaction

:30:19.:30:35.

after Scotland. They needed to score early. We have more rugby to come

:30:36.:30:38.

over the course of the next 48 hours.

:30:39.:31:05.

Tomorrow it is Italy, France and also England against Scotland at

:31:06.:31:10.

Twickenham, which you can hear live on Radio 5. Kick off at 4pm. And you

:31:11.:31:17.

can follow the weekly pod cast on the website. It is an FA Cup

:31:18.:31:28.

weekend. And rugby Special on Sunday on BBC Two reflecting on the weekend

:31:29.:31:33.

matches and probably the most anticipated Calcutta Cup match since

:31:34.:31:38.

1990. It is an awful long time since Scotland won at Twickenham. The

:31:39.:31:43.

English forwards will dominate the game. When we have a go, we are

:31:44.:31:53.

good. COMMENTATOR: A brilliant try by the Scottish scrum-half. What a

:31:54.:32:03.

day for the Scots. Carling with the try. Robertson is

:32:04.:32:12.

back. These are things that are discussed externally. The press like

:32:13.:32:19.

to bring up the records on both sides, nobody is surprised people

:32:20.:32:22.

are talking about these things. It is another big game. They all the

:32:23.:32:27.

same, big games. At the moment, the way we have trained, there is a good

:32:28.:32:34.

simmering energy among the team. There is not much pressure on us. We

:32:35.:32:38.

can go down there and have nothing to lose. We are playing well. It

:32:39.:32:45.

should be a good contest. We are happy with where we are as a group.

:32:46.:32:50.

Every team we play in the Six Nations is a serious team and the

:32:51.:32:54.

past results have reflected that. There are no easy games. That is

:32:55.:32:58.

international rugby, everyone is competitive. We prepare to be

:32:59.:33:03.

competitive and come out the other side and so far we have done that

:33:04.:33:09.

and this week is no different. I read somewhere Eddie Jones expects

:33:10.:33:13.

them to be in the top one, two in the world because of the resources

:33:14.:33:16.

they have. It is hard to go there and play. Especially now they play

:33:17.:33:23.

with confidence. We put pressure on ourselves and have an expectation to

:33:24.:33:28.

get better every game. Results have come with that so far. As long as we

:33:29.:33:35.

perform, I have no doubt this team take the right step forward. Eddie

:33:36.:33:41.

Jones has been keeping his own counsel apart perhaps from blaming

:33:42.:33:46.

his dog for injuring or maybe not injuring Owen Farrell. How confident

:33:47.:33:50.

are you England will keep the winning run going tomorrow? Their

:33:51.:33:56.

home record is good. Performances have not been fantastic. Scotland

:33:57.:34:00.

have the ability in the back row to cause trouble and England are

:34:01.:34:06.

uncomfortable when rushed. The beauty is the 23, not necessarily

:34:07.:34:10.

the 15. Their home record will see them through. The nature of runs,

:34:11.:34:16.

they have to come to an end at some point and England will lose and at

:34:17.:34:19.

some point Scotland will win at Twickenham. I don't think so

:34:20.:34:24.

tomorrow. I think England will up their game. They have been winning

:34:25.:34:29.

but not playing good rugby and I think it will change tomorrow. You

:34:30.:34:34.

look at the bench tomorrow. That will be the difference. That is for

:34:35.:34:39.

tomorrow. We can talk to Paul and Jonathan in the commentary box. I am

:34:40.:34:43.

sure you have taken breath because it was a breath lasts 40 minutes.

:34:44.:34:48.

How encouraged will Wales be with the opening half? Very encouraged

:34:49.:34:54.

and they need to keep up the intensity and work out the line

:34:55.:34:58.

speed of islands. Keep the intensity, momentum up because they

:34:59.:35:04.

have been disappointing in second halves. They have a great chance.

:35:05.:35:10.

Especially I would like to see what condition Conor Murray and Johnny

:35:11.:35:13.

Sexton will be in when they come out. Conor Murray is injured and

:35:14.:35:16.

Johnny Sexton is off the field because of the yellow card. Will

:35:17.:35:21.

Ireland be trying to slow down the game for the first eight minutes to

:35:22.:35:26.

get to the point where it is back to 15 aside? They probably will be,

:35:27.:35:30.

they will probably kick more and play more conservatively. There was

:35:31.:35:38.

very little width once Johnny went off. He is the most important player

:35:39.:35:44.

in the team and it is a big loss to Ireland. It goes to what we said,

:35:45.:35:51.

Wales giving teams a leg up, making mistakes when they put teams under

:35:52.:35:54.

pressure but this time they didn't. They got a penalty and the

:35:55.:35:59.

crossfield kick from Rhys Webb and brilliant play and from that

:36:00.:36:02.

pressure came another penalty and sin-bin. They did not do that with

:36:03.:36:08.

Scotland, releasing the pressure, conceding penalties. In simple play

:36:09.:36:12.

they have put Ireland under pressure and are in a great place going into

:36:13.:36:17.

the second half. The cheering behind Paul was for the Welsh team coming

:36:18.:36:22.

out early for the second half. It is a great atmosphere. The crowd have

:36:23.:36:26.

been rewarded with an exhilarating first 40 minutes.

:36:27.:36:37.

Friday nights rugby at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

:36:38.:36:43.

Wales against Ireland. Ireland take the lead. North is back with a

:36:44.:36:52.

vengeance! Ireland take the lead. A yellow card. Leigh Halfpenny lands

:36:53.:36:59.

the penalty. It has been an exhilarating half. It has had a bit

:37:00.:37:04.

of everything. STUDIO: How long will it be when we

:37:05.:37:09.

do not talk about the bench. We will talk about the finishers. Here they

:37:10.:37:16.

are. Who has been nudged, Keith? When you look at the Irish guys,

:37:17.:37:22.

particularly O'Mahony and Henderson coming on. And Healy. In the

:37:23.:37:27.

forwards, looking for power carriers, guys to put people under

:37:28.:37:31.

pressure. The Wales bench have been poor in the last couple of matches.

:37:32.:37:35.

They have been disappointing when you look at the quality. Faletau,

:37:36.:37:44.

Jamie Roberts. Tell us why Wales have come out early. I think it is a

:37:45.:37:50.

tactic. They have been poor against England and Scotland second half.

:37:51.:37:56.

Perhaps not sitting in the changing room too much. Stop the second half

:37:57.:38:00.

on a positive note. Jerry, how does this end up? Thanks, John! To call

:38:01.:38:10.

this one, it will remain close, unless, because of the tackling

:38:11.:38:14.

Ireland have done... I cannot see Ireland falling off a cliff through

:38:15.:38:19.

tackling. They have shown against New Zealand in the autumn. This will

:38:20.:38:25.

be tight right to the end. What a game and anybody's game.

:38:26.:38:31.

Eddie. Conor Murray is back for the second half. Johnny Sexton is in the

:38:32.:38:43.

sin-bin. Simon Zebo. The first half, it was brutal. It was brutal. We can

:38:44.:38:51.

hear the collisions from here. Wayne Barnes blowing for the start of the

:38:52.:38:57.

second half. Simon Zebo finding George North with the kick-off.

:38:58.:39:06.

Moriarty. The angle is improved for Dan Biggar, should he choose to

:39:07.:39:11.

clear. Justin Tipuric. The first actor. --

:39:12.:39:37.

tackler. Rhys Webb stayed with Keith Earls

:39:38.:40:03.

but it needed Ken Owens to make the secondary tackle.

:40:04.:40:23.

Have not seen much of Garry Ringrose.

:40:24.:40:33.

The flip inside to CJ Stander, but Alun Wyn Jones saw him coming. That

:40:34.:40:38.

is the strength of Stander. It has gone loose and Scott Williams

:40:39.:40:44.

got a boot to it. Murray. Tackled so close to the

:40:45.:41:45.

line. Just about found touch. What a clever kick. Before that loose pass

:41:46.:41:51.

Ireland were playing clever football. We forget Sexton is off

:41:52.:41:58.

the pitch and they are a man short. Patients. Good execution.

:41:59.:42:04.

Ken Owens prepares to throw five metres from the Irish line. And the

:42:05.:42:20.

maul is on. North for and a second try! These

:42:21.:42:42.

are such massive moments in the game. Ireland had two cracks in the

:42:43.:42:52.

first half. Wales stole one of their line-outs. Defended their first one.

:42:53.:42:56.

In fairness, they scored comfortably. The line-out maul setup

:42:57.:43:04.

so well. It looked so tight to the Irish have to commit numbers. They

:43:05.:43:12.

are down a man and make it tell. It is communication, great

:43:13.:43:16.

communication. Rhys Webb has the vision. He sucked Zebo in and he

:43:17.:43:23.

scores. Wales releasing pressure, making a mistake. Ireland were in

:43:24.:43:28.

control and one loose pass and Wales capitalise and a great kick and

:43:29.:43:32.

chase. Once again this man has stabbed his mark on the game and so

:43:33.:43:36.

has Rhys Webb. I cannot believe Ireland did not keep a forward on

:43:37.:43:44.

the short side. Disappointing defence. It is difficult, going for

:43:45.:43:53.

the try-line, the forwards have got to go in. Leigh Halfpenny to as the

:43:54.:43:58.

two points. -- to add.

:43:59.:44:05.

It held its line and Wales extend their lead. 15 points to six. They

:44:06.:44:16.

have found scoring difficult in the last two games, but not here

:44:17.:44:20.

tonight. If George North plays like this he has probably guaranteed

:44:21.:44:27.

himself a public flogging every game! What a way to response.

:44:28.:44:37.

Change at scrum-half. Kieran Marmion comes on. It gets no easy for

:44:38.:44:47.

Ireland. It when loose again. Wales had it.

:44:48.:45:10.

Numbers for Wales. Henshaw did well, very well. That

:45:11.:45:26.

close to his own goal line. A good clearance but leaving Wales

:45:27.:45:47.

in an attacking position, still. Clumsy turnovers Roa Ireland.

:45:48.:45:54.

Tipuric gets his hands in on the ball well and then kicks it, but

:45:55.:46:01.

clumsy turnovers. We spoke about Ilan's kicking game in the first

:46:02.:46:05.

half. Two fantastic kicks. One of them leading to the try. Very

:46:06.:46:16.

uncharacteristic of Ireland. Two mistakes. They put themselves under

:46:17.:46:22.

pressure. They are still down to 14. Rhys Webb sees the gap.

:46:23.:46:36.

Penalty. Alun Wyn Jones taking it on.

:46:37.:47:01.

It has been slowed up by Best and Sean O'Brien.

:47:02.:47:22.

Scott Williams cutting inside. Tackled well by Furlong.

:47:23.:48:19.

11 on the 11th. Moriarty into touch. Good defence by Ireland. Just went

:48:20.:48:32.

the wrong way one too many times. Too close to the line-out. Now

:48:33.:48:37.

Sexton comes on. Dan Biggar trying to drop in the pocket. A very

:48:38.:48:45.

different Welsh team this week to last week. They are probably mixing

:48:46.:48:51.

the best of their old game with their new game. Willing to go hard

:48:52.:48:55.

and straight, as well. They are holding onto the ball and taking

:48:56.:49:06.

islands -- taking Ireland through lots of phases. It is exhausting.

:49:07.:49:13.

You can see the line speed has slowed. It has been such a high

:49:14.:49:15.

tempo game. The good news for Ireland, as well

:49:16.:49:30.

as their defensive effort, is that Johnny Sexton is back on the field.

:49:31.:49:39.

Jamie Heaslip winning the line-out. Wales trying to exert driving

:49:40.:49:41.

pressure on the clearing operation. Ireland earning themselves a

:49:42.:49:55.

penalty. It has to be frustrating. You have them in their own 22 and

:49:56.:50:05.

they give a simple penalty. Ireland one to maul that for a few meters

:50:06.:50:07.

and kick it out. -- want to. Ireland line-out and they are on the

:50:08.:50:23.

attack. A really bad bit of play here. I think Jake Ball takes it

:50:24.:50:33.

down. Clumsy play. Shaun Edwards. That says it all. Silly error. Rory

:50:34.:50:38.

Best to throw on the halfway line. Sam Warburton has been man-to-man

:50:39.:50:46.

marking all evening. Sexton looking to break things up.

:50:47.:51:43.

CJ Stander does not find Warburton in his path this time, but he is

:51:44.:51:45.

still brought down. It opens up for the big second row.

:51:46.:51:59.

Suddenly Ireland have momentum. Have good territory.

:52:00.:52:06.

Sexton delaying the pass to Jamie Heaslip.

:52:07.:52:20.

Ken Owens had to release it. Ireland still in possession.

:52:21.:52:40.

Rory Best was tackled by his opposite number, Ken Owens. Good

:52:41.:52:45.

tackle. Rob Evans delayed the release. Good

:52:46.:53:06.

positive pressure from Ireland. Sean O'Brien, first chance to get some

:53:07.:53:09.

speed up. Rory Best hanging onto the ball.

:53:10.:53:16.

Sexton with another delayed pass. Zebo cannot get away from Jonathan

:53:17.:53:20.

Davies. That was brilliantly picked up by

:53:21.:54:03.

Jamie Heaslip. Jonathan Davies tackling him. Wales turn it over.

:54:04.:54:15.

Knock-on. No penalty. It is a penalty. Spotted by the touch judge

:54:16.:54:22.

on the far side. Absolutely exhausting phase of play. Up until

:54:23.:54:27.

the penalty I thought it was incredible defence by Wales. Not

:54:28.:54:36.

giving away a penalty. Absolutely fantastic play. Now we are back to

:54:37.:54:41.

five metre drives. My favourite part of the game. A great defence. Johnny

:54:42.:54:49.

Sexton, how he manages the Irish. His choice of pass is brilliant. He

:54:50.:54:53.

makes a significant difference to this side.

:54:54.:54:57.

It is play on so far. Sam Warburton trying to grab the

:54:58.:55:12.

ball. High tackle. Accidental high tackle. Still a high tackle, says

:55:13.:55:19.

Wayne Barnes. Sam Warburton is getting through

:55:20.:55:36.

some amount of work, some amount of high-quality work. He is a nuisance

:55:37.:55:41.

at the breakdown but he has made phenomenal hits, as well. It is such

:55:42.:55:47.

a tiring game. Substitutions will be interesting on both sides. Watch

:55:48.:55:55.

this tackle. He goes high. It is such great defence. They have so

:55:56.:56:03.

many dummy runners, Ireland. Once it gets narrow, do they have the

:56:04.:56:10.

ability to go wide. Dan Biggar protests, the crowd protests, but

:56:11.:56:14.

given the current interpretation, that is still a penalty.

:56:15.:56:21.

Johnny Sexton, the bruising around his left eye. He has been off for

:56:22.:56:33.

treatment and off in the bin, but he is back, masterminding the Irish

:56:34.:56:34.

comeback. They needed two scores. That is the

:56:35.:56:52.

option they needed to take. Dan Biggar ready to take the restart. He

:56:53.:56:58.

thought about taking it quickly. I would be dropping one of these down

:56:59.:57:07.

on Garry Ringrose, or Henshaw. Zebo again the target. A good follow-up

:57:08.:57:13.

tackle by George North. What a different George North it is this

:57:14.:57:15.

evening. Getting intricate in their 22 and

:57:16.:57:32.

Liam Williams redback well. Keith Earls has been elusive as anybody.

:57:33.:57:34.

Dan Biggar claiming it on halfway. Wales still trying the long passes

:57:35.:57:53.

and Jonathan Davies, Leon Williams. Williams still going. -- Lee

:57:54.:57:57.

Williams. Moriarty. Powerful. The tackling

:57:58.:58:06.

resolute. Dan Biggar is back for the drop

:58:07.:58:49.

kick. Off the post. Rob Kearney has time back there. The right option.

:58:50.:58:59.

He will be disappointed he did not nail that. That is a routine drop

:59:00.:59:11.

kick for him. He set it up. A lovely pass by Rob Evans. As Paul said,

:59:12.:59:16.

they do not panic, do not look for the miracle pass. They go to ground,

:59:17.:59:18.

keep possession. Cian Healy is on as a replacement

:59:19.:59:27.

for McGrath. Cian Healy is a great guide to bring

:59:28.:59:41.

off the bench. Big, powerful, hungry ball-carrier. Henderson is there as

:59:42.:59:48.

well on the Irish bench. So, big impact. Little dink forward, it

:59:49.:59:56.

comes to Tipuric, he tries to find Alun Wyn Jones.

:59:57.:00:06.

Pass off the floor, says referee Wayne Barnes. Perhaps he didn't play

:00:07.:00:18.

it immediately. Fairly obvious. The crowd are having none of it, that.

:00:19.:00:24.

On the floor, you are out of the game. Johnny Sexton tries to impose

:00:25.:00:38.

a little calm on proceedings. Justin Tipuric is now on the ground, out of

:00:39.:00:44.

the games. Amazing how Tipuric sees things happen quicker than anybody

:00:45.:00:57.

else. Ross Moriarty finishes the stealing job. It advantage being

:00:58.:01:08.

played. Here goes the slightly irked Welsh captain for the penalty given

:01:09.:01:15.

against Tipuric. Rhys Webb will test Simon Zebo. Here comes the Zebo

:01:16.:01:22.

against Dan Biggar. Back to Sexton. Ringrose. Justin Tipuric pulled him

:01:23.:01:28.

down in the end. Francis on Healy with the tackle.

:01:29.:01:54.

Johnny Sexton, one player standing in a sea of crushing movement.

:01:55.:02:14.

-- a tester. Warburton fell on the loose ball. Safely puts it back on

:02:15.:02:30.

the Welsh side for Rhys Webb. Dan Biggar are back in position. Wales

:02:31.:02:34.

want to manage their way into a better position.

:02:35.:02:48.

If he's on his feet initially, as soon as there is contact... A little

:02:49.:02:59.

conversation there. Interesting to see Wales put that ball off the Park

:03:00.:03:03.

in comparison to where they were in the England game. Where are we on

:03:04.:03:08.

the clock? 62 minutes. A small shift. Very rare in a passage you

:03:09.:03:13.

would see Wales put that ball off the park. Iain Henderson has come on

:03:14.:03:21.

into the second row in the place of Devin Toner.

:03:22.:03:31.

He plays back row as well. As the game gets more and more into the

:03:32.:03:39.

tired zone he's going to have an impact Conor Henderson, in loose

:03:40.:03:45.

Wales steal another line-out ball. Scott Williams. Wales still going

:03:46.:03:53.

long. Liam Williams on the far side. He puts a boot to it but it only

:03:54.:03:57.

finds Rob Kearney. Keith Earls bundled into touch.

:03:58.:04:22.

Ireland are worried about the line-out. Rushed everything. Little

:04:23.:04:31.

moral victory for Wales. Line-out stolen by Charteris. Off for Ireland

:04:32.:04:43.

is CJ Stander. That is my little interpretation of a moral triumph,

:04:44.:04:48.

to see Ireland's leading charge ago. Interesting, Charteris is on.

:04:49.:04:54.

Brilliant maul defender and his workrate is phenomenal.

:04:55.:05:10.

Rhys Webb takes over from Ken Owens. Beautifully taken by Dan Biggar.

:05:11.:05:23.

Jonathan Davies long to Leigh Halfpenny. Halfpenny can't quite

:05:24.:05:31.

free his hands to get the ball to George North. North goes in. A busy

:05:32.:05:34.

night for George North. Scott Williams held up for the

:05:35.:06:05.

moment. Ireland have ripped the ball clear.

:06:06.:06:15.

Marmion looks one way, eventually goes the other. It's a knock-on

:06:16.:06:25.

advantage to Ireland. Keith Vaz Evans makes a good tackle.

:06:26.:06:32.

No advantage any more. Good boot forward by Ringrose and Halfpenny

:06:33.:06:48.

turns and gets back on his feet. Good work by the Wales full-back.

:06:49.:06:55.

Sam Warburton goes to scrum-half. Luke Charteris.

:06:56.:07:09.

Rhys Webb puts more length on it this time. Back towards Wales.

:07:10.:07:23.

Again, Leigh Halfpenny... Ooh, he has knocked it on. Sean O'Brien to

:07:24.:07:32.

Sexton. That's probably just a little long. Dan Biggar under

:07:33.:07:41.

pressure from Keith Earls. It's come loose. Somehow Wales hang onto

:07:42.:07:49.

possession. Leigh Halfpenny scrambling for the ball. It's not

:07:50.:07:58.

out of play. Liam Williams weights. Ireland pick him up and drag him

:07:59.:08:01.

backwards. Any clearance would be good now for Wales. They are still

:08:02.:08:08.

happy to keep it amongst the forwards that close to the goal

:08:09.:08:09.

line. Another clearance operation that

:08:10.:08:21.

does not go well from that corner of the Principality Stadium. Unlike in

:08:22.:08:27.

the game against England, Wales get away with it and get the ball into

:08:28.:08:31.

touch. It is one hell of a Test match. You just feel that Wales need

:08:32.:08:37.

that buffer. They need a drop goal or a penalty to give some breathing

:08:38.:08:41.

space. Ireland are throwing everything at them. Some great play

:08:42.:08:46.

by Ireland. The loop play we saw in the French game creating

:08:47.:08:50.

opportunities. One forward to another, out the back to Sexton,

:08:51.:08:54.

they created some really good space in the last few minutes. An awful

:08:55.:08:59.

lot of tired bodies from both teams on the pitch. Ireland have looked

:09:00.:09:05.

very strong. Good line-out pressure here. Ireland have struggled in the

:09:06.:09:13.

last few minutes. Scott Williams has gone off. Jamie Roberts has come on.

:09:14.:09:22.

A case of fresh legs. This has been a gruelling, exhausting encounter.

:09:23.:09:28.

More changes for Wales. Upfront, Nicky Smith is on. Fill it

:09:29.:09:50.

Rory Best to throw. Won by Henderson. Heaslip. Marmion to

:09:51.:10:08.

Henshaw. Ireland trying to set up a maul. Rory Best in charge, slips it

:10:09.:10:19.

back. Sexton, Ringrose. Again through the forwards until

:10:20.:11:03.

Sexton now has it with two passes Ireland suddenly go wide. Halfpenny

:11:04.:11:11.

tries to avoid touch. Forced back over the goal line, but touch first.

:11:12.:11:17.

Five metre line-out, Ireland throw. Super weight on the kick, such a

:11:18.:11:22.

good kick, forcing Wales to either play it to the line-out or to carry

:11:23.:11:28.

it. It's going to be a line-out. Ireland have had a lot of

:11:29.:11:31.

opportunities from this distance and failed to convert. Wales have been

:11:32.:11:36.

very good defensively from this part of the field.

:11:37.:11:51.

Charteris is an intimidating figure when you are trying to call the

:11:52.:11:59.

line-out. Henderson wins. Clever play by Ireland. They've stopped

:12:00.:12:04.

Charteris could in near the ball, and on comes the drive from Rory

:12:05.:12:11.

Best. It's still moving. Rory Best edges closer. Help arrives from the

:12:12.:12:14.

outside. I think it's a penalty to Wales.

:12:15.:12:31.

Number 12 has run in front of the ball and made it start going again,

:12:32.:12:37.

that's obstruction, that a penalty. Well, well, well. I think the

:12:38.:12:41.

forwards will be absolutely crazy. It seemed to be going in the right

:12:42.:12:46.

direction, slowly, slowly. Henshaw comes in and goes in front of the

:12:47.:12:50.

ball and reignites the drive again. He's disallowed it and given the

:12:51.:12:58.

penalty. We were going quite well, stopped, and then 12 started it. I

:12:59.:13:02.

think he has a point. Haven't seen it again here. He has to bind over

:13:03.:13:12.

the guy at the back of the maul. Here he goes. Harsh enough. If he

:13:13.:13:18.

had put an arm over the top of Rory Best as he went into that maul... I

:13:19.:13:27.

think it might be a penalty. He does seem to clear the way for Rory to

:13:28.:13:34.

dive over. If he gets behind Rory, he still scores. I agree. Cannot

:13:35.:13:40.

believe how gritted Paul O'Connell's teeth were when he said it might be

:13:41.:13:52.

a penalty. Might be. And escape Wales. Robbie Henshaw, here he

:13:53.:14:04.

comes. Rory Best with the ball. If he puts his arm over Rory, it is a

:14:05.:14:11.

different story. Such fine margins. I still think we would have scored

:14:12.:14:21.

if he had not joined. Prosperous source of line-out possession for

:14:22.:14:22.

Wales today, Tipuric. Back to Sexton. Back to the aerial

:14:23.:14:26.

game. That should be OK. Samson Lee is on. Faletau West 20.

:14:27.:15:05.

Ireland swoop. And Ireland have to put in. It's a question of what is

:15:06.:15:17.

left in the tank of these two sites. Mistakes creeping in and could be

:15:18.:15:27.

crucial. Wales need that buffer. Whenever there is a break in play,

:15:28.:15:30.

you look at the players and wonder how they can play another phase,

:15:31.:15:34.

they look so tired. Then the ball comes into play and the Welsh

:15:35.:15:37.

defence comes to life. We were talking about the Irish bench, the

:15:38.:15:42.

likes of Cian Healy, Henderson. Tony Fowler et al coming on for Wales. --

:15:43.:15:52.

Tony Faletau. These are big game players. Wales have changed their

:15:53.:15:55.

front row entirely. Scott Baldwin has just arrived. Ireland still have

:15:56.:15:59.

two starters, I think. Heaslip puts it over to the right

:16:00.:16:27.

hand side. Straight to Simon Zebo. Zebo looked for the past. George

:16:28.:16:29.

North over the ball. Great contest. They are varying

:16:30.:16:58.

tactics. Tried to go down the middle, try to go through the hands.

:16:59.:17:03.

Let's wait and see how good they are on the flat. From the scrum, first

:17:04.:17:11.

kick, that is a narrow defensive line. Wales under the cosh, just

:17:12.:17:23.

like they were two years ago. Ireland swarm all over the

:17:24.:17:26.

scrum-half and earn themselves a five metre scrummage with the

:17:27.:17:32.

put-in. That's what you get with Peter Manning, phenomenally quick

:17:33.:17:37.

off the floor. Against Tipuric who is also quick. Peter O'Mahony is the

:17:38.:17:46.

best back row jump in Europe. The five metre line-out is so important.

:17:47.:17:50.

If you can pressure that you give yourself a great opportunity, which

:17:51.:17:51.

Ireland have done here. Just having a blood stop called.

:17:52.:18:07.

Peter O'Mahony, immediate impact. Tipuric has won so much ball for

:18:08.:18:17.

Wales. O'Mahony pinched one when it mattered. I know it's loud, let's

:18:18.:18:31.

give ourselves space. Both teams, give yourself space.

:18:32.:18:48.

Heaslip again, shelters the ball. Sexton. It's narrow. Has it gone

:18:49.:19:16.

backwards? It has. Jamie Roberts punches the air. And all it is is a

:19:17.:19:26.

scrummage. Offside. Man in front of the knock-on.

:19:27.:19:34.

The worst thing you can do here is give away a penalty. If you run a

:19:35.:19:41.

play that is not the greatest in the world, if you are still five yards

:19:42.:19:44.

from the line, it's not the end of the world to turn it over stopped to

:19:45.:19:52.

give a penalty is very tough. Five minutes to get back down there for

:19:53.:19:56.

Ireland. Big defensive moment from Wales. We saw Shaun Edwards pumping

:19:57.:20:01.

his fist. He stands there, he picks the runner. Keith Earls been so

:20:02.:20:09.

dangerous. There's the reaction. We spoke about Jamie Roberts having an

:20:10.:20:13.

impact. He will have seen those players defending plays like that

:20:14.:20:17.

for years. Scott Baldwin. Again it is Tipuric who wins the line-out.

:20:18.:20:26.

Gareth Davies keeps a close eye on the ball this time. Going to kick

:20:27.:20:35.

downfield. Down towards Keith Earls. Dan Biggar in hot pursuit but

:20:36.:20:46.

brilliantly taken by Earls. Sexton. That's excellent pursuit of the ball

:20:47.:20:49.

by Gareth Davies, the scrum-half. Sexton again, to Sean O'Brien.

:20:50.:20:56.

Heaslip driven back by Liam Williams.

:20:57.:21:08.

Long along the floor. Jonathan Davies in hot pursuit. Catches him.

:21:09.:21:25.

Henderson. This is different because Ireland are now in their own 22.

:21:26.:21:43.

Cian Healy tries to raise his legs. Justin Tipuric hangs on. Ireland

:21:44.:21:49.

still in their 22. And again, Tipuric involved. Sean

:21:50.:22:08.

O'Brien took a little pause. Can't get out of the 22.

:22:09.:22:12.

Rory Best. Ireland standing still and taking the ball. Is there anyway

:22:13.:22:27.

out of this 22? Ireland trailing by six points. Sexton, charged down by

:22:28.:22:34.

Faletau, Jamie Roberts for the line, Roberts! We wait for Wayne Barnes to

:22:35.:22:45.

award the try. He has. And Wales have just won the encounter.

:22:46.:22:56.

Pressure on Faletau, fresh legs. Sexton has tried every passing the

:22:57.:23:00.

buck to unlock this defence. He tries a little chip. Faletau gets to

:23:01.:23:09.

him. There is the try scorer. Fairplay to Wales. They've been

:23:10.:23:17.

really clever in the second half. Excellent driving maul to a box-kick

:23:18.:23:21.

and they pinned Ireland down, put them under incredible pressure.

:23:22.:23:27.

Jamie Roberts, he's felt the pressure all week, nobody has felt

:23:28.:23:31.

the pressure more than Rob Howley and the Welsh coaching staff. And

:23:32.:23:36.

how they have responded, what a response.

:23:37.:23:41.

Leigh Halfpenny as the two points. Jonathan, your man of the match?

:23:42.:23:53.

Warburton has been brilliant, so has Sexton. George North. For me, Rhys

:23:54.:23:59.

Webb. There's the man. He had his hand in both tries. Aggressive

:24:00.:24:05.

defence. Man of the match, Rhys Webb. Into the last minute. Ireland

:24:06.:24:14.

ring the changes. But you can just tell the game is won. Alun Wyn Jones

:24:15.:24:20.

is too exhausted to celebrate yet. His moment will come. Paddy Jackson

:24:21.:24:25.

gets us back under way. It has gone forward. Ringrose picks up the

:24:26.:24:34.

bouncing ball. Sean O'Brien. Zebo. Tommy Bowe is on the field. Faletau

:24:35.:24:41.

over the ball. Can't play it now. Has to leave it for Marnie.

:24:42.:24:46.

Chatteris tracks the replacement. It went forward. Wales will have one

:24:47.:24:55.

last scrum. Line speed is still there from

:24:56.:25:12.

Wales. Absolutely incredible to see the likes of Tipuric getting up with

:25:13.:25:16.

incredible enthusiasm and intensity, at this stage, having put in the

:25:17.:25:21.

shift that he has. Rob Howley, you've got to be happy for him. This

:25:22.:25:25.

performance, the hard work, the pressure they've been under. This

:25:26.:25:33.

was always the trick for Ireland. Wales were a very good team playing

:25:34.:25:41.

badly. 100% a try. They are a very good team playing badly with some

:25:42.:25:45.

absolutely world-class players. They have absolutely produced the goods

:25:46.:25:49.

today, played brilliantly. I think they've been very clever as well.

:25:50.:25:53.

Which I don't think they had been in some of their performances in the

:25:54.:26:02.

Six Nations. Some crucial line-out steals, and the enthusiasm of the

:26:03.:26:07.

back row is phenomenal to see. Hasn't just been a game of relief

:26:08.:26:10.

for Wales given the pressure they have been under, it has been a

:26:11.:26:15.

fantastic Test match. Fantastic Test match and I think the

:26:16.:26:17.

decision-making by the Welsh players has made the difference. In previous

:26:18.:26:22.

matches they've been loose, given opportunities away. Now they've

:26:23.:26:27.

scored two beautiful tries, third try through pressure. Just small

:26:28.:26:31.

margins that make a huge difference at this level. Tommy Bowe going off,

:26:32.:26:40.

I just wonder how much more of Tommy Bowe there is to come. He's been

:26:41.:26:44.

around a long time. Wonderful servant on the Irish wing. If this

:26:45.:26:52.

is farewell to Tommy Bowe. Disappointing for him after a long,

:26:53.:26:58.

long injury return to get back, to get picked for today, that's really

:26:59.:27:01.

disappointing. Hopefully that's not too bad. It's the face of a man who

:27:02.:27:12.

thinks this might be it. Hang on, that's a bit harsh. Come on, head!

:27:13.:27:22.

Gareth Davies will put into the scrummage. Wales have nine seconds.

:27:23.:27:42.

It's a retreating scrum and Ireland have stolen it. We are into

:27:43.:27:51.

overtime. Ireland come away with it. Play goes on. Alun Wyn Jones still

:27:52.:27:58.

working. No letup in the pace at all. Paddy Jackson. No letup in the

:27:59.:28:12.

ferocity of the tackling. While Scannell, replacement hooker. Paddy

:28:13.:28:21.

Jackson goes on his own. It's a good tackle by Scott Baldwin, the hooker.

:28:22.:28:28.

Henderson, tackled by Gareth Davies. Marmion. Sean O'Brien.

:28:29.:28:42.

Still it thunders on. It has gone forward at last. If Wales can break

:28:43.:28:55.

away and scored they get themselves a bonus point. It could be. Sam

:28:56.:28:59.

Davies is on. Jamie Roberts, George North. Cuts inside. North! Burst of

:29:00.:29:10.

acceleration, George North! Up to the Irish 22. Gareth Davies awaits.

:29:11.:29:21.

Jonathan Davies, men outside him, can't get the pass away. He does

:29:22.:29:29.

now. Charteris was there. Scott Baldwin. Davies goes starting round

:29:30.:29:40.

the blindside. Halfpenny twists, roles, presents. The captain.

:29:41.:29:51.

Sam Davies knocks on. The game is over. Wales don't get their bonus

:29:52.:30:01.

point but they do have the victory in a pulsating, enthralling game,

:30:02.:30:03.

they have beaten Ireland 22-9. An absolutely phenomenal match.

:30:04.:30:20.

There were times at the break of play. You wondered how the guys

:30:21.:30:27.

would play the next phase. Then they lifted it again every time. A great

:30:28.:30:35.

Test match by two great sides. Wales have won. What a night it has been.

:30:36.:30:43.

22-9, they have been Ireland. STUDIO: Martyn Williams and Rob

:30:44.:30:47.

Howley vindicated picking the same team. Go out and prove yourselves. A

:30:48.:30:54.

phenomenal defensive effort. Ireland threw everything at Wales and they

:30:55.:31:00.

stood tall and to a man, a superb game of rugby. Rhys Webb, it was

:31:01.:31:09.

tense towards the end of the game until Roberts scored. You were

:31:10.:31:12.

watching from the bench not able to do anything. Very nervous at the

:31:13.:31:19.

end. We know from the last three games there have been fine margins.

:31:20.:31:23.

We felt dominant in the last games and we knew we were one performance

:31:24.:31:29.

away from winning. We played for the full 80 minutes and put in a shift.

:31:30.:31:36.

You had a big hand in the two tries for George North. How much does the

:31:37.:31:42.

team oh Rob Howley performance? The coaches have been telling us to play

:31:43.:31:47.

and back our ability. We showed today glimpses of what we can do and

:31:48.:31:52.

there is more to come from us. Everybody was writing us off, but we

:31:53.:32:00.

did not become a bad team overnight. You are the man of the match.

:32:01.:32:05.

Congratulations, Rhys Webb. Rob Howley urged the team to redeem

:32:06.:32:10.

themselves. How determined were you to repay the faith he has shown. I

:32:11.:32:16.

think to a large proportion we owe it to the people in the stadium. And

:32:17.:32:22.

to ourselves. We have not done ourselves justice in the last two

:32:23.:32:25.

games and that was a priority today and I think we have done that.

:32:26.:32:32.

Congratulations. STUDIO: That fantastic match, as darkness

:32:33.:32:37.

descends, long since descended on the Principality Stadium, but Wales

:32:38.:32:41.

lit up this magnificent stadium with that victory which means England, if

:32:42.:32:45.

they beat Scotland tomorrow will retain the Six Nations championship

:32:46.:32:50.

and if Scotland win, it is anybody's game going into the final weekend.

:32:51.:32:57.

22-9 is one statistic, but how about more than 300 tackles across those

:32:58.:33:02.

80 minutes. Just the most phenomenal match. One moment of controversy

:33:03.:33:07.

towards the end. We are on the red button after this and will discuss

:33:08.:33:12.

them them. Henshaw penalised and denied Ireland what would have been

:33:13.:33:17.

potentially the winning score. It was a great line-out move and the

:33:18.:33:22.

ball was in, came down perfectly. Look at number two. Rory Best. You

:33:23.:33:28.

see Henshaw coming in. If he goes in and slides his hand up over Rory

:33:29.:33:33.

Best that is fine but if he goes in just ahead of the ball carrier it is

:33:34.:33:38.

a penalty and obstruction. It is very tight. Just needed a connect

:33:39.:33:45.

with Rory Best and he would have been fine. The fact he did not grip

:33:46.:33:50.

Rory Best in any way, definite penalty. On such small margins are

:33:51.:33:57.

matches won a loss. Jeremy, what a spectacle. Well done, Wales. Over

:33:58.:34:03.

100 tackles in the second half. Two tries to nil, a magnificent

:34:04.:34:07.

performance. I am sure you have enjoyed spending your Friday night

:34:08.:34:14.

with us. At times it felt like a game of Gaelic football. What a

:34:15.:34:18.

stupendous game. May the rest of your sporting weekend be as

:34:19.:34:21.

intoxicating. Good night from Cardiff.

:34:22.:34:29.

# You can always go downtown. # When you've got worries all the

:34:30.:34:34.

noise and the hurry seem is to help I know. Downtown.

:34:35.:34:41.

# Listen to the music of the traffic in the city.

:34:42.:34:44.

# Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty.

:34:45.:34:49.

# How can you lose? # The lights are much brighter. You

:34:50.:34:55.

can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares.

:34:56.:35:00.

# So go downtown. # Things will be

:35:01.:35:01.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS