Ireland U20s v Wales U20s

:00:13. > :00:21.The waiting is almost over. I don't understand why we are favourites. I

:00:22. > :00:27.do think Wales... They want to win, they want to win, they want to

:00:28. > :00:36.win... Europe's biggest and best tournament is about to ignite.

:00:37. > :00:44.First, the curtain-raiser live from Dublin, as the next generation of

:00:45. > :00:51.stars battle for supremacy. Can this year's youngsters recapture this

:00:52. > :00:54.kind of form? Adams, getting back inside... A superb try! That is

:00:55. > :01:04.brilliant! It's been a rough day weather-wise

:01:05. > :01:08.on the other side of the Irish Sea. That won't bother these guys one

:01:09. > :01:13.bit. Wales captain Tom Phillips and company will be relishing the trip

:01:14. > :01:18.to Ireland. They have won the last three in a row against their Celtic

:01:19. > :01:22.cousins and they will be looking to extend that run tonight. Good

:01:23. > :01:28.evening and welcome to the programme, your Six Nations weekend

:01:29. > :01:35.starts here on Scrum V Live. I'm getting very excited, so too Rob

:01:36. > :01:39.Jones and Martyn Williams. This U20s team, league has become the ultimate

:01:40. > :01:45.stepping stone to international honours. There is no A-team within

:01:46. > :01:48.the Welsh set-up. It has become a tradition, it kicks off the Six

:01:49. > :01:54.Nations weekend. You only have to look at the team that is picked on

:01:55. > :01:58.Sunday, Dan Biggar, Sam Warburton, they have all played at this level.

:01:59. > :02:05.It is a stepping stone to the big time. I suppose, Rob, the problem

:02:06. > :02:08.some of these coaches have, the squad can change wholesale from

:02:09. > :02:13.season to season. This time, 11 survivors from last year's campaign.

:02:14. > :02:18.Many of whom critically have had Pro 12 experience. It is vital.

:02:19. > :02:23.Experience is massive in any form of the game. These guys understand the

:02:24. > :02:26.pressures of this competition. They will have learnt from last year and

:02:27. > :02:31.they have moved on to bigger and better things. That experience will

:02:32. > :02:34.be vital and will probably give Wales the edge tonight. That seems

:02:35. > :02:38.to be the feeling from across the Irish Sea. The Irish team much less

:02:39. > :02:42.experienced than Wales tonight. We will talk about some of the younger

:02:43. > :02:45.players in a few moments. First, let's take a look behind-the-scenes

:02:46. > :02:57.at the U20s training camp. We have a nice blend. We have a

:02:58. > :03:02.number of players back for their second season of U20s. A lot of them

:03:03. > :03:06.have been exposed to regional rugby, which can only grow them as players.

:03:07. > :03:11.The confidence has picked up, training has picked up, but you have

:03:12. > :03:17.the younger boys who are keen to prove their worth and there is a

:03:18. > :03:23.good mixture of older and younger boys this year. A shoulder to lean

:03:24. > :03:27.off if they need help. I'm maybe a link between the coaches and the

:03:28. > :03:31.players, that's what I'm there for. Our aim is to win every game.

:03:32. > :03:35.Mistakes happen. That is the attitude we want. And we have the

:03:36. > :03:42.personnel and the experience and the boys coming through, strength

:03:43. > :03:51.in-depth, to push forward. Tonight's game is on Donnybrook's 4G pitch, so

:03:52. > :03:56.the boys have been preparing on the Arms Park artificial surface. The

:03:57. > :04:00.style of play we are looking to play will suit a fast tempo. We have been

:04:01. > :04:07.lucky enough to have the artificial surface to train on. The style of

:04:08. > :04:14.play we want to play, it could be a good thing. They won't lack

:04:15. > :04:18.motivation, but we respect Ireland, they will be difficult opponents and

:04:19. > :04:24.the key thing is to play well and we produce a real good performance.

:04:25. > :04:33.Let's have a look at the side that Jason Strange has picked for this

:04:34. > :04:41.first match. Declan Smith partners Dan Jones. We saw Owen Watkin's try

:04:42. > :04:47.in our opening sequence from last season. He has made five appearances

:04:48. > :04:53.for the Ospreys so far this time. He is alongside Harri Millard. Check

:04:54. > :05:04.out Keelan Giles, making his debut tonight, with pace to burn. He is

:05:05. > :05:11.alongside Elis-Wyn Benham and Rhun Williams. He's never looked out of

:05:12. > :05:17.place? He's looked a real prospect for the future. He is very powerful.

:05:18. > :05:21.The Ospreys have played a part in bulking him up. That is coming

:05:22. > :05:24.through in terms of his performances. The power he has, the

:05:25. > :05:32.vision he has as well. Identifying where the space is on that clip.

:05:33. > :05:37.This Keelan Giles, a huge amount of expectation in terms of his ability.

:05:38. > :05:41.Fantastic footwork. He is down at Swansea Rugby Club. He's scored some

:05:42. > :05:47.fantastic tries this year. Open space, there is no better runner.

:05:48. > :05:51.I'm expecting big things from him. High praise from Rob Jones there and

:05:52. > :05:57.of course a pacy player will always find a 4G pitch a pleasure to play

:05:58. > :06:04.on. Let's cast our eyes over the pack now. Corey Domachowski and

:06:05. > :06:09.Dafydd Hughes join Dillon Lewis, making his 11th appearance.

:06:10. > :06:17.Experience, too, in the second row with the Ospreys' Adam Beard making

:06:18. > :06:21.his 11th U20s appearance. Tom Phillips captains the side from the

:06:22. > :06:28.back row. We heard from him just then. Harrison Keddie makes his

:06:29. > :06:31.eighth start and Shaun Evans, another debutant. Martyn, some

:06:32. > :06:39.serious talent in that pack tonight. You have been keeping a close eye on

:06:40. > :06:46.the progress of Dillon Lewis? He's played 11 games for the U20s so he's

:06:47. > :06:51.played a year young, and tight heads are worth their weight in gold. This

:06:52. > :06:54.guy is learning his trade. He's had a couple of tough outings for the

:06:55. > :07:00.region. Around the park, he is fantastic. He is a great footballer.

:07:01. > :07:05.There are huge expectations on him and he's come in and got some big

:07:06. > :07:11.games out in Montpellier. He brings a wealth of experience to a U20s

:07:12. > :07:16.team. He's going to be crucial to their campaign. Another one to keep

:07:17. > :07:20.an eye on tonight. Let's go over and keep an eye on Phil, he has been

:07:21. > :07:28.enjoying the Irish hospitality, as he always does! He has Paul Wallace

:07:29. > :07:41.for company tonight. Evening. Thanks. Welcome to Donnybrook. Paul,

:07:42. > :07:46.you captained Ireland at U21 level. That Irish pack is weighing in at

:07:47. > :07:52.900 kilograms. How big a difference will that make at this level? It's a

:07:53. > :08:01.long time ago now! A massive pack. Looking at them warm up there, just

:08:02. > :08:08.the sheer size, but the power, Cillian Gallagher is bigger than

:08:09. > :08:12.most, but also they have a good scrum, James Ryan, and that is going

:08:13. > :08:18.to look to go at Wales, up front and use that size and might. In

:08:19. > :08:23.contrast, the Welsh size has Pro experience and U20s experience. Yes,

:08:24. > :08:28.seven players back and, most importantly, your first game up, you

:08:29. > :08:32.need someone to control the game and Dan Jones can step in there and

:08:33. > :08:37.manage the team around, which he will need to do. They have lots of

:08:38. > :08:41.experience out wide and this pitch should suit Wales. Thanks, Paul.

:08:42. > :08:50.Conditions are perfect here. Let's go to the commentary box.

:08:51. > :08:57.COMMENTARY: It's been a wild old day but it has settled down now.

:08:58. > :09:02.Conditions are pretty good, especially under foot on this 4G

:09:03. > :09:09.pitch. It should suit these youngsters and a running game. Very

:09:10. > :09:16.interesting to see the size of these Irish boys as well. They are pretty

:09:17. > :09:21.massive. Not experienced. Wales far more experienced, the likes of

:09:22. > :09:23.Dillon Lewis, Adam Beard, Tom Phillips, they have all played

:09:24. > :09:37.competitive games for their region. For Ireland, the front row of

:09:38. > :09:42.Porter, McBurney and O'Donnell are the only ones who have played at

:09:43. > :09:48.this level before. Jack Power, highly thought of, as are Shane Daly

:09:49. > :09:58.and Jimmy O'Brien, and the captain, James Ryan. On the bench, a bit of

:09:59. > :10:14.experience as well, Jarrod Evans has featured for the Blues. The referee

:10:15. > :10:23.is from France. The U20s Championship of 2016 kicks off at

:10:24. > :10:26.Donnybrook. Johnny McPhillips gets the game under way. Adam Beard of

:10:27. > :10:43.the Ospreys, the recipient. Wales are struggling with the

:10:44. > :10:48.possession. And early doors, it is Ireland who win that battle and

:10:49. > :10:52.Ireland win the first penalty. Not too much Corey Domachowski could do

:10:53. > :10:59.about it. It spilt out into his grasp. No sooner had he got hold of

:11:00. > :11:04.it he was in trouble. Harrison Keddie looking to lay the ball back,

:11:05. > :11:06.but it flew out. Domachowski was under such pressure that there was

:11:07. > :11:28.always going to be one result. Johnny McPhillips, 19 next month.

:11:29. > :11:49.Born in Newcastle. An early chance for the home side.

:11:50. > :11:59.As always in grounds around Ireland, perfect silence. That turns into the

:12:00. > :12:03.first cheer of the evening because Ireland U20s are ahead 3-0. Paul

:12:04. > :12:08.Wallace showing he's got that fleetness of foot, he's sped up here

:12:09. > :12:17.to the commentary point. Evening. Looking forward to this one?

:12:18. > :12:27.Certainly am. I got held up by Joe Schmidt and his entourage. What a

:12:28. > :12:33.good start, alertness winning that penalty for Ireland. Jimmy O'Brien

:12:34. > :12:47.kicks long. Shane Lewis-Hughes was upended and

:12:48. > :12:56.Owen Watkin has to gather. A feisty start from the Irish forwards,

:12:57. > :12:59.pressurising on the ball. It went forward, a knock-on advantage to the

:13:00. > :13:05.Irish. John Poland tries to sneak it away to Andrew Porter.

:13:06. > :13:19.That is good work by the Irish forwards. Held up by Wales.

:13:20. > :13:26.That's a tactic that we might see a bit of tomorrow, or Sunday rather.

:13:27. > :13:31.Not quite sure what the weather is going to be like game time. But it

:13:32. > :13:37.will be a tester for the back three. You can guarantee there will be

:13:38. > :13:39.rain! And the ball will be raining down, that's for sure! Power looking

:13:40. > :13:52.to counter. McPhillips had spotted the space on

:13:53. > :13:59.the outside. It is nicely worked. O'Brien. And O'Brien - he doesn't

:14:00. > :14:05.make the corner. That is a great cover tackle from Dan Jones. The ref

:14:06. > :14:11.wants to see if the try has finally come. Brilliant cover by Dan Jones.

:14:12. > :14:19.Were the Irish support alert enough and was the ball forward or not?

:14:20. > :14:27.Great awareness by McPhillips. He saw Wales were in a bit tight. You

:14:28. > :14:30.need to keep your depth when you are trailing like that. Hopefully, we

:14:31. > :14:39.will get a good view of the final touchdown now. It was a well-worked

:14:40. > :14:44.kick by Johnny McPhillips. He saw the space out wide. Great cover

:14:45. > :14:52.tackle by Dan Jones. Now, then, let's see what happened.

:14:53. > :14:57.It looks as though Cillian Gallagher may have got there. He certainly

:14:58. > :15:03.did. Great follow-up. Cillian Gallagher is a huge man for number

:15:04. > :15:08.six, at any level. To get around the park, he is a converted second row,

:15:09. > :15:12.great play, and to get there so quickly as first forward, excellent

:15:13. > :15:26.play. Well deserved. It didn't go forward from O'Brien. It evaded the

:15:27. > :15:32.fingertips... It looks like a try. I am waiting for more pictures.

:15:33. > :15:42.Elis-Wyn Benham beaten to it by Gallagher. It's a straightforward

:15:43. > :15:48.try. I'm sorry, I have not got good pictures. I will try for them.

:15:49. > :16:05.Please, the same one... The TMO there. O'Brien kept it infield,

:16:06. > :16:16.Byrne didn't touch it. I have a decision. A well deserved try. Some

:16:17. > :16:21.great interplay by the midfield, Daly and O'Brien, who are highly

:16:22. > :16:36.talked about in Ireland as future players for senior recognition.

:16:37. > :16:46.That is a real blow for Wales, very early on. Great awareness from

:16:47. > :16:51.Johnny McPhillips. He had a look up, saw Daly on the outside in a bit of

:16:52. > :16:56.space and some excellent support play, despite the best efforts by

:16:57. > :17:16.Dan Jones, Gallagher managing to keep control.

:17:17. > :17:25.Across the face from McPhillips, but what a start from the Irish boys. I

:17:26. > :17:29.think the forwards, it looked like a choke tackle on the halfway line,

:17:30. > :17:33.the intensity that the forwards hit in, they got that forward momentum,

:17:34. > :17:38.two phases before the try, which we are seeing here, that got Ireland on

:17:39. > :17:39.the front foot. That also meant Wales' defence wasn't quite together

:17:40. > :18:14.and great finishing by Ireland. Will Connors doing the cleaning up

:18:15. > :18:20.work for Ireland. Not cleanly hit by McPhillips. Taken by Giles now, he

:18:21. > :18:24.can shift. But not in that much traffic.

:18:25. > :18:38.A couple of Pontypridd players in the line-up for the Welsh boys

:18:39. > :18:44.tonight. And their reward is a penalty and a chance for their first

:18:45. > :18:48.points of the evening. Ireland getting a bit overeager in defence

:18:49. > :18:53.there, they need more discipline. Still early stages. It is a team

:18:54. > :18:57.just getting together, their first full international after a couple of

:18:58. > :19:01.warm-up games, and it looked like the defence was well controlled,

:19:02. > :19:12.good communication and there was no need for them to

:19:13. > :19:58.Dan Jones picked up 28 points in the Six Nations last year and gets his

:19:59. > :20:03.first three this year to put Wales on the board. That was a vital score

:20:04. > :20:07.for Wales after a slow start and Ireland taking their opportunities.

:20:08. > :20:12.Dan Jones is pivotal to Wales if they are to win tonight, his

:20:13. > :20:17.experience and his general ability as a general for Wales will be all

:20:18. > :20:22.important if they are to overcome this good Irish early start.

:20:23. > :20:27.Interesting choice there. There is a good choice at ten for Wales, Jarrod

:20:28. > :20:31.Evans on the bench. Featured for the Blues on a few occasions. I dare say

:20:32. > :20:34.we will see him before the end of the evening. He offers something

:20:35. > :20:56.slightly different. REFEREE: You must stay up to contest

:20:57. > :21:01.the ball. You must stay up. Just a bit overeager there, the contest at

:21:02. > :21:05.the breakdown. It normally takes 15 or 20 minutes to work out a referee.

:21:06. > :21:09.In the professional game, you have so much analysis on referees and

:21:10. > :21:16.what you can and can't get away with it. When you get new teams like

:21:17. > :22:04.this, you have to trial by error to see what you can get away with.

:22:05. > :22:12.That's a good strike but it died in the end. It looked like it was at

:22:13. > :22:18.the end of his range there. The longer a kicker waits before he

:22:19. > :22:23.kicks it, the more likely the kick is to go wrong. Sometimes it is that

:22:24. > :22:27.instinctive, you stride back and go for it. It seems a more assured way

:22:28. > :22:38.of going for goal. Angus O'Brien has put the Dragons

:22:39. > :22:47.ahead, 3-0 they lead against Ulster. The one game in the Pro12 this

:22:48. > :23:17.evening. That was well read by Dafydd Hughes.

:23:18. > :23:21.James Ryan, all 6'8" of him - and there is plenty of bulk in this

:23:22. > :23:27.Irish pack, which the Welsh boys are going to have to contend with.

:23:28. > :23:35.Straight through goes Will Connors, just keeping that defence honest.

:23:36. > :23:42.Around the corner comes Conan O'Donnell.

:23:43. > :23:48.Steady progress being made by the Irish pack. Deeper and deeper into

:23:49. > :23:56.that Welsh 22. Good defence by Wales and now they

:23:57. > :24:02.flood the tackle area, sensing they may be able to turn it over. No, it

:24:03. > :24:04.is back in the hands of John Poland. McPhillips, in from the wing comes

:24:05. > :24:24.Byrne, Watkin with the tackle. Wales are having to concentrate for

:24:25. > :24:28.a lengthy period in defence. With the kick coming in, advantage is

:24:29. > :24:37.over. That's Matthew Byrne, a local lad. A chance for Wales to counter.

:24:38. > :24:44.Declan Smith getting support from Adam Beard. They couldn't get it out

:24:45. > :24:52.wide quickly enough and Harri Millard just putting it down field.

:24:53. > :24:56.No real pressure from that kick. Wales would have hoped to make

:24:57. > :25:03.better use of that unexpected turnover ball. Giles. Rhun Williams

:25:04. > :25:09.trying to take it on the volley, but he missed it completely.

:25:10. > :25:20.Unfortunate there, Shane Daly. Doesn't manage to stay in from the

:25:21. > :25:23.touchline. He is quite rangy, he is probably a sort of guy that will

:25:24. > :25:27.fill out a bit. On this one occasion, you have to step up, when

:25:28. > :25:33.you are that close - great defence as well to roll him towards the

:25:34. > :25:53.touchline. He has to work harder to stay infield.

:25:54. > :26:00.Wales chance to build and go

:26:01. > :26:10.There's the one that Wales will look to more than anyone for guidance

:26:11. > :26:21.behind the scrum. Effective carry by Dafydd Hughes,

:26:22. > :26:29.getting them over the game line. Dan Jones. Again, the kick wasn't a

:26:30. > :26:36.pressure kick and that is an unexpected bonus for Wales with Hugo

:26:37. > :26:40.Keenan spilling that one. Good defence by Ireland. They realise

:26:41. > :26:44.that Wales want to get the ball wide, they have a lot of exciting

:26:45. > :26:47.backs. Maybe the Welsh backline a bit flat and not being able to take

:26:48. > :26:51.on that rush defence out wide, resorting to the kick. It looked

:26:52. > :26:54.like a kick that wasn't going anywhere, but Keenan drops the ball

:26:55. > :27:01.and now it's a great position for Wales and it will be interesting to

:27:02. > :27:06.see how this scrum goes. It is interesting to see what every scrum

:27:07. > :27:10.goes like, isn't it? Yes, spoken like a former prop!

:27:11. > :27:17.Looking forward to Sunday's battle, in particular. It is an interesting

:27:18. > :27:24.one. So many front-line players missing for Ireland, it will be

:27:25. > :27:32.interesting to see how that goes. It certainly will. And maybe some of

:27:33. > :27:38.the decisions last year in the choice of Rob Evans on the loose for

:27:39. > :27:46.Wales. Harrison Keddie, straight to Owen Watkin. Connors is trying to

:27:47. > :27:51.get over the ball, but it is safely back to Lewis-Hughes. Dan Jones

:27:52. > :27:57.under pressure. Rhun Williams spots a bit of space, backs himself and

:27:58. > :28:02.gets there, superb play by the Caernarfon full-back. Just ran out

:28:03. > :28:07.of space in the end. Great cover by Connors, tracking down, a great

:28:08. > :28:13.break by Williams and good feet, just too many players to beat and

:28:14. > :28:24.Connors managed to drag him at the end. The Irish defence are not

:28:25. > :28:27.letting the Welsh backline settle. Keenan slips off the tackle but

:28:28. > :28:38.Connors comes to the rescue. Excellent corner flagging from the

:28:39. > :28:43.open side. A good bit of vision from Rhun Williams. It is Owen Watkin who

:28:44. > :28:55.is down. Wales won't want to lose him. Good

:28:56. > :29:01.decision-making by Wales. They are not getting the front-foot ball, an

:29:02. > :29:07.aggressive Irish defence. If they did get deeper, they might be able

:29:08. > :29:13.to play it a bit more. Once it wasn't on, they just dinked it in

:29:14. > :29:21.behind. One of the last glimpses we saw off Waterden Road Ofwat -- of

:29:22. > :29:42.Owen Watkin was for the Ospreys last Sunday.

:29:43. > :29:49.Crouch. Bind. Set. Just need a solid scrum

:29:50. > :30:03.The pressure I disagree with that. Not just being Irish but as a prop.

:30:04. > :30:07.When you are there next to a touchline you can see the Welsh

:30:08. > :30:12.scrum certainly spun to the left side. That was a deliberate wheel.

:30:13. > :30:16.There's so many penalties given for deliberate wheels and a little

:30:17. > :30:19.pushing and shoving here and it will all break up. You can tell the Irish

:30:20. > :30:23.obviously felt aggrieved with the penalty and the way the Welsh boys

:30:24. > :30:30.celebrated was salt in the wound then. There was always a chance

:30:31. > :30:35.things might flare up a little bit. Yeah, it's clear if we get another

:30:36. > :30:38.shot of that, the Welsh scrum got up on the left and walked it around

:30:39. > :30:50.which is what they're trying to eradicate from the game. Too many

:30:51. > :30:56.referees, it's is when a player dominates the opposition number.

:30:57. > :31:02.That one I would have been more sympathetic to the Irish cause. It's

:31:03. > :31:13.not necessary. Stay in the game. We stay on the penalty here. OK.

:31:14. > :31:20.Just trying to exert his authority there and make sure that people

:31:21. > :31:24.don't rush in as Dan Jones did. Here we see the scrum. Yeah, standing up

:31:25. > :31:31.in the scrum. That's OK what's happening. There is a walk around

:31:32. > :31:34.there on that... For me, it's important for Wales in that position

:31:35. > :31:39.that you pin it into the corner and turn it up in that direction and for

:31:40. > :31:43.me, yeah, that's why I would have gone with Ireland.

:31:44. > :31:48.Good drive from the Irish pack. Keddie comes away with it. It

:31:49. > :31:53.bounces off one would-be tackler. Great run from Keddie. Option to go

:31:54. > :31:59.to the blind side. Is there enough room there?

:32:00. > :32:05.Not quite. Forwards queuing up. Lewis-Hughes

:32:06. > :32:06.brought down short again. The skipper Phillips. Wales pounding at

:32:07. > :32:23.the Irish line. Smith digs in. Phillips has another

:32:24. > :32:26.go. Gallagher with a tackle. Surely, they're so close. Can they

:32:27. > :32:34.reach it? Yes, they can indeed. At the third or fourth time of asking.

:32:35. > :32:40.I think it's Hughes who got there in the end. Good confidential by Wales

:32:41. > :32:43.to go through the phases and get that ball retention and you will

:32:44. > :32:50.eventually get over the line. Looked like they would get over earlier but

:32:51. > :32:53.it was a fantastic tackle by Burney but too much pressure there and

:32:54. > :33:01.great ball retention by Wales. It took a second movement. It was

:33:02. > :33:08.just touched the line before it was dragged back. It was enough to claim

:33:09. > :33:12.the try for Dafydd Hughes. Interesting, the hand looks like it

:33:13. > :33:18.might be... He gets to the end of it there. Skin of his teeth. The point

:33:19. > :33:19.of the ball just touching the whitewash.

:33:20. > :33:56.They all count, though. Max Deegan has left the field with a

:33:57. > :34:02.cut head. Dan Jones, a superb strike. Wales

:34:03. > :34:08.fight back well. Hughes' try converted. The 20-minute mark and

:34:09. > :34:12.Wales go ahead. There has been a momentum shift. Wales just coming

:34:13. > :34:15.back and showing great confidence and when you have seven players

:34:16. > :34:20.there from last year that's a big thing. You don't get rattled by

:34:21. > :34:25.going a few scores down early on. Wales in the lead. Wonder what the

:34:26. > :34:30.team manager thinks? He is with Phil.

:34:31. > :34:34.How timely was that try after Wales after they didn't get off the bus in

:34:35. > :34:39.the first ten minutes? We did start slowly. When you play in Ireland you

:34:40. > :34:43.know you are in for a tough first few minutes. We probably lacked

:34:44. > :34:47.urgency. The boys responded well and built the basis of the try on an

:34:48. > :34:51.excellent scrum in the corner. Wales showing they can cope with this big

:34:52. > :34:55.Irish pack. Yeah, there's been a lot in the press about the big pack but

:34:56. > :34:56.we have some big boys as well. They asserted themselves there. Very

:34:57. > :35:10.pleased. Cheers, Mark. Kelvin Brown is the replacement in

:35:11. > :35:24.the Irish back row. Watkin with a tackle. Driving

:35:25. > :35:39.through goes Dan Jones. Dan Jones certainly is fired up for

:35:40. > :35:47.this one. Living life among the forwards. Great play by Dan Jones.

:35:48. > :35:50.It's great to see in the professional era now halves getting

:35:51. > :35:55.stuck in. No longer do you stay back. Really good. Came in hard and

:35:56. > :35:59.fast. Well disciplined coming in from the back foot. Ireland probably

:36:00. > :36:03.need to be more disciplined. They won the ruck first but you have to

:36:04. > :36:14.hold your position once you get past. Got too far past it but well

:36:15. > :36:25.counter-rucked by Wales. A bit embarrassing to be knocked off

:36:26. > :36:32.the ball, though! Nowadays they're all bigger than the forwards. Evans

:36:33. > :36:38.with the ball now on the open side. To Smith.

:36:39. > :36:48.Good work by Watkin. He is so, so clever tracking the ball.

:36:49. > :36:54.Turned over, though. Good defence by Ireland. That will be an Irish

:36:55. > :37:01.throw, as well. Hard to see... Gallagher involved

:37:02. > :37:04.again. Has had a promising start. Certainly was somewhat involved in

:37:05. > :37:11.that ball coming back. I don't think we will ever know if it came back by

:37:12. > :37:16.legal means or not, will we? The Dragons are having a great start.

:37:17. > :37:25.Adam Hughes with a try to go with O'Brien's penalty. And converted, as

:37:26. > :37:30.well. 10-nil the Dragons lead car yiring on from a win against

:37:31. > :37:33.Leinster last week. Connors has been prominent in the

:37:34. > :37:52.first half. He is a big open side, as well. 6'5" of him.

:37:53. > :38:01.That's turned over. Evans. The kick behind the defence.

:38:02. > :38:05.Back there is the captain, James Ryan.

:38:06. > :38:09.Some of the counter-rucking from Wales has been top drawer. It's all

:38:10. > :38:15.about timing and reading the situation. Is it worth committing?

:38:16. > :38:24.Not just worth committing to a ruck and at what time. A ruck, a team

:38:25. > :38:29.might think it's won. They're not getting a low body position. It's

:38:30. > :38:33.one thing they have to do, get hips and shoulder down low and make it

:38:34. > :38:37.hard for Welsh players to clear them out.

:38:38. > :38:39.Keddie sets it up. Evans is always going to be under

:38:40. > :38:59.pressure from O'Brien. A touch far maybe. It may work out.

:39:00. > :39:05.Again Keenan. It wasn't secure under the high ball. Phillips has it for

:39:06. > :39:10.Wales. Jones goes for a cross-kick for

:39:11. > :39:14.Giles. Taken cleanly by Daly.

:39:15. > :39:21.The clean catch awarded. That's Gaelic football for you!

:39:22. > :39:29.Great two-handed catch. Very well taken. It looked like a young

:39:30. > :39:34.Henshaw going up for that. Giles.

:39:35. > :39:40.Haven't really seen his running ability, now we might. Just run out

:39:41. > :39:46.of space. Such an exciting prospect. Dazzling feet. There's been another

:39:47. > :39:51.try in Belfast, this time for the home side. Reddy the try scorer and

:39:52. > :39:56.the conversion, as well. After the opening stages it's all

:39:57. > :40:19.been played down in Ireland's half. Support from Brown. Lovely inside

:40:20. > :40:25.ball. Anybody with Daly? Looks inside. The scrum-half Poland

:40:26. > :40:32.arrives. And Gallagher. Lovely support work by the Irish.

:40:33. > :40:36.It's gone forward. But illegally. Stripped on the floor.

:40:37. > :40:41.Beautiful play by the Irish back row. O'Connors, first of all and

:40:42. > :40:48.then Kelvin Brown, what a beautiful slip pass. Again it was that Mangal

:40:49. > :40:52.aher charging on, bringing -- that man of Gallagher. Hands free. Ball

:40:53. > :40:55.goes out. Look at that. Division and also communication. The running

:40:56. > :40:59.lines, when you are supporting coming in from behind, it's one of

:41:00. > :41:02.the things that at senior level Ireland aren't doing much of which

:41:03. > :41:05.is offloading. They don't seem to have the trail runners. It's a

:41:06. > :41:10.pleasure to see it happening here at under-20 level. Some great running

:41:11. > :41:15.rugby there by Ireland. Will Connors has been very

:41:16. > :41:18.impressive in attack and defence. His cover tackle earlier, a couple

:41:19. > :41:26.of bursts and then showing good hands, as well, as did Kelvin Brown.

:41:27. > :41:31.Wales desperate in defence, just putting a hand on the floor. Shane

:41:32. > :41:36.Daly also linking with the back row. He has been one of the standout

:41:37. > :41:38.players for me from Ireland in the first half. Connors has taken a bang

:41:39. > :41:53.on the shoulder by the look of it. It's the skipper Tom Phillips who is

:41:54. > :41:54.getting prolonged treatment for Wales.

:41:55. > :42:50.He is back up on his feet. High, straight and through. Johnny

:42:51. > :42:58.McPhillips restores the lead for Ireland.

:42:59. > :43:02.Well rewarded from very good play from Ireland. I think this game

:43:03. > :43:08.looks like it's going to be nip and tuck the whole way. Just as Wales

:43:09. > :43:15.thought they were getting back on top, Ireland manage to break free

:43:16. > :43:22.and get in and good reward for some fine play by Ireland.

:43:23. > :43:28.Brown had an instrumental hand in that breakout from one 22 to the

:43:29. > :43:32.other. Poland again. His kick is half

:43:33. > :43:37.charged down. No offside. There wouldn't have been except it came

:43:38. > :43:50.off one Welsh second row to the other. You are offside. It's not you

:43:51. > :43:55.who catch the ball. Offside. Tlas no offside line initially. Came off

:43:56. > :44:00.Hughes. Again another box kick being blocked down. When you think of the

:44:01. > :44:04.old school scrum-halves where you kicked the ball facing the other

:44:05. > :44:10.direction, so the trajectory went straight up and these big seconds

:44:11. > :44:15.couldn't get a on it and now they're side-on. Big second rows are easy to

:44:16. > :44:20.get in and get it blocked down. It's something they need to maybe take a

:44:21. > :44:24.step back in time and get some of those great technical scrum-halves

:44:25. > :44:25.that used to be able to put so much height and never got close to

:44:26. > :44:35.getting blocked down. Nudged on by Deegan who is back on

:44:36. > :44:39.the field. What would have been a scrum turns

:44:40. > :44:50.into a penalty. A cheap penalty by Ireland really.

:44:51. > :44:55.There was no real pressure there. When you look at where Wales were,

:44:56. > :44:58.it was after a big line break by Ireland, running 50 metres. If you

:44:59. > :45:02.give away a pen ylt in that situation it's not the worst thing.

:45:03. > :45:07.When you have a dead ball going nowhere you have to keep your

:45:08. > :45:13.discipline in there. Good lineout play. Scrappy off the top. And then

:45:14. > :45:26.just a scramble for the ball here. A big weekend of rugby. The big game

:45:27. > :45:30.of the weekend after this one is live on S4C on Sunday afternoon and

:45:31. > :45:34.a look back at what is a very exciting first weekend in the Six

:45:35. > :45:47.Nations on Scrum Five on Sunday evening at 7.00pm.

:45:48. > :45:55.Dan Jones on the mark again. The seesaw game continues. It's

:45:56. > :46:19.back, advantage Wales on the half-hour mark.

:46:20. > :46:27.After putting Wales back ahead, Jones safely puts the ball out of

:46:28. > :46:32.play and just gets a chance for everybody to have a breather and

:46:33. > :46:45.reform and concentrate on the next phase of play.

:46:46. > :46:57.Gallagher off the top. Deegan standing off.

:46:58. > :47:08.O'Donnell brought down by Phillips. Deegan again waiting.

:47:09. > :47:12.It was meant to be a one-two. The scrum-half beautifully poached by

:47:13. > :47:21.Phillips. Lewis is on his own.

:47:22. > :47:28.Now help arrives in time. In steps Shaun Evans. Ireland not

:47:29. > :47:38.committing to the breakdown. Keeping numbers out to defend wider.

:47:39. > :47:47.Both teams are a little narrow. No one on the far right side.

:47:48. > :47:52.Nicely done by Jones. Covered by Poland. Watkin is

:47:53. > :48:12.lurking, as was Giles. Knocked out of play. Williams has

:48:13. > :48:19.Benham outside him. Tries to go the long way around.

:48:20. > :48:27.Good pace to get past the first man but lost it in contact? No, says the

:48:28. > :48:34.referee. That one has gone. A chance for a counterled by Ryan.

:48:35. > :48:38.Lovely pop up to Poland. Important tackle by Millard. Good hands by

:48:39. > :48:41.Connors. Wales very much on the back foot at the moment.

:48:42. > :49:03.Popped up... Ryan again. Taken on by Porter.

:49:04. > :49:17.Pushing Wales back to the 22. Slowed down by Wales. They've

:49:18. > :49:21.reformed defensively. One of the Irish players still down on halfway.

:49:22. > :49:28.Looks like a penalty advantage to Ireland at the moment.

:49:29. > :49:32.It's a kick for nothing for McPhillips.

:49:33. > :49:36.A nothing kick, as well. It means they'll go back for the

:49:37. > :49:46.penalty. Again great Irish offloading. Prop

:49:47. > :49:49.forwards, to back rows and continuing going through. An awful

:49:50. > :49:53.lot of pick and go around the side and right through the middle of the

:49:54. > :49:55.rucks, probably not when you get in behind a team like that, you

:49:56. > :50:00.probably don't want to do that. You want to get the ball right out

:50:01. > :50:05.again, move the point of attack consistently so the other defence

:50:06. > :50:10.can't form T gives them more time. That pick and go does work when it

:50:11. > :50:18.is dead ball. Interestingly enough another way to get going, we haven't

:50:19. > :50:21.seen a maul. I guess thee 4G pitches aren't conducive. The Irish first

:50:22. > :50:27.team staff here in evidence. Wonder what they're making of it? It looks

:50:28. > :50:32.as though when they go for that break outthey step up a gear and

:50:33. > :50:36.it's quickly transferred 30, 40 metres down field. Fantastic play.

:50:37. > :50:40.They're looking for space. The offloading is there. They're pulling

:50:41. > :50:44.defenders one way or the other, getting hands free and also you know

:50:45. > :50:47.the trailing player, they know the pass is coming. As we were saying

:50:48. > :50:52.earlier, it's very different to maybe the way the senior team are

:50:53. > :50:56.playing where they're not an offloading side with trailing

:50:57. > :51:02.players. It's paying dividends when you are under pressure. It's getting

:51:03. > :51:09.Ireland into these positions. It's nip and tuck all right.

:51:10. > :51:14.Another success for Johnny McPhillips, means with four minutes

:51:15. > :51:23.of the first half left Ireland edge back ahead 14-13.

:51:24. > :51:31.The crowd may be a bit confused. The clock in the ground is at 40 minutes

:51:32. > :51:34.but that hasn't stopped at any point during proceedings and we have had a

:51:35. > :51:47.few injuries. And one or two lectures from the referee.

:51:48. > :51:56.Domachowski finds Beard. Giles.

:51:57. > :51:59.Taken out of play by Matthew Byrne. They're looking to see if they can

:52:00. > :52:05.create enough space to get him away and clear. They haven't managed to

:52:06. > :52:09.yet. They certainly look very dangerous

:52:10. > :52:12.Wales out wide. Williams has looked impressive hitting the line, great

:52:13. > :52:18.pace and stepping and there we see Giles, as well. Maybe needs to work

:52:19. > :52:23.more at keeping possession, if he doesn't have that space, maybe

:52:24. > :52:34.looking to link back, keeping the attack going.

:52:35. > :52:44.Wales, unexpected possession from that lineout. Lewis was charging

:52:45. > :52:50.into the 22. Smith to Jones. Flat ball.

:52:51. > :52:56.Right on the game line. Keddie under pressure.

:52:57. > :53:15.Slips it to Dafydd Hughes. Too many green shirts outside

:53:16. > :53:21.Millard. Nicely done. Giles.

:53:22. > :53:29.Wales looking to finish the half with a flourish. And edge back ahead

:53:30. > :53:35.as they head for the changing rooms behind that try line. The Welsh

:53:36. > :53:38.crowd that are supporting giving voice to Shaun Evans.

:53:39. > :53:42.Six metres short. Driven on again, right underneath

:53:43. > :53:51.the posts. Oh! It's stolen. Great work by Adam

:53:52. > :53:56.McBurney. Ireland so thankful to their hooker.

:53:57. > :54:01.It's still alive, though. Slipped back inside to Phillips.

:54:02. > :54:04.Wales keeping the pressure up, keeping possession of the ball.

:54:05. > :54:09.When Ireland thought they had done the necessary, they didn't get the

:54:10. > :54:15.ball off the park. There is more defending to be done.

:54:16. > :54:24.Jones steps inside. Couldn't get the ball to Watkin. It's still there for

:54:25. > :54:28.Wales. Domachowski again.

:54:29. > :54:36.Lewis-Hughes. Again Wales knocking on the door.

:54:37. > :54:42.It took the hard battering ram way the first time. Lovely slip. That's

:54:43. > :54:48.a very well-worked try for Adam Beard. Wales do strike back just

:54:49. > :54:51.before half-time. That's great patience and that is great

:54:52. > :54:57.discipline rounded off in a try for Adam Beard. Well deserved. Very

:54:58. > :55:01.well-worked. We talked about the back line getting a little flat

:55:02. > :55:05.early on. The forwards didn't there. Beard seemed to come from the blind

:55:06. > :55:10.side behind. Beautiful trailing line. Comes straight in flat. Should

:55:11. > :55:15.have been a better tackle put in by McPhillips there. Not physical

:55:16. > :55:18.enough when you get a second row charging on a soft shoulder against

:55:19. > :55:22.an out half and should have been defence inside and forwards coming

:55:23. > :55:27.the inside shoulder but very good line and run well. Great patience by

:55:28. > :55:32.Wales, as well. They tried the hard yards for the forwards but it was a

:55:33. > :55:37.great pass by Shaun Evans and Adam Beard timed his run well. He came

:55:38. > :55:40.from depth and as if needed it against an outside half, that gave

:55:41. > :55:44.him the momentum, as well. How many times have we seen just

:55:45. > :55:48.before half-time, just before and after, they can be the tries that

:55:49. > :56:14.turn a fixture. The final kick of the first half.

:56:15. > :56:18.Successful by Dan Jones. That is a great end by the Welsh boys after

:56:19. > :56:23.being under pressure early on from Ireland. Ireland leading the way,

:56:24. > :56:28.but Wales striking back well. Two tries to one. They lead by 20-14.

:56:29. > :56:31.Let's go back to Phil with Mark Taylor again.

:56:32. > :56:36.What a great time to score, Mark. How much confidence will you take

:56:37. > :56:41.from that? Obviously it's a great time to score on half-time. I think

:56:42. > :56:45.it's the fact we went through the phases, as well. It was well-worked.

:56:46. > :56:49.We had been banging on the door a few times. The boys kept composure

:56:50. > :56:52.and kept it in play. Excellent, pleased with them so far. Is that

:56:53. > :56:58.the answer for the second half, patience and phases? It's got to be.

:56:59. > :57:02.Obviously, just play the right areas, got a nice lead but certainly

:57:03. > :57:06.keep the ball in hand, got good runners e as well. Possession is the

:57:07. > :57:12.key and doing the right things with it. Cheers, make sure they have a

:57:13. > :57:19.good orange at half-time. That was the manager. Here is the recap.

:57:20. > :57:22.Wales had won the last three against Ireland but it was Ireland who came

:57:23. > :57:26.out of the blocks quickest tonight. First with a penalty after two

:57:27. > :57:30.minutes. Then a sensational try after four minutes on the clock.

:57:31. > :57:36.Things looking a little bad for Wales at that point. But they came

:57:37. > :57:42.back into the game well. Knocked a penalty over themselves. After some

:57:43. > :57:46.impressive forward power, wave after wave of possession, eventually it

:57:47. > :57:51.was the hooker Thomas who crashed over - Hughes I should say who

:57:52. > :57:55.crashed over for Wales and Ireland appeared to be going into the

:57:56. > :58:00.half-time in the lead. But Wales again, after a concerted period of

:58:01. > :58:06.pressure on the Ireland line, crossed the line with the

:58:07. > :58:08.clean-shaven Adam Beard who ran a lovely line. Stats are relatively

:58:09. > :58:28.even with the two sides. On the pitch, a fairly even game,

:58:29. > :58:33.and competitive and evenly contested game. Perhaps, though, Jason Strange

:58:34. > :58:39.will be the happier of the coaches because Wales have gone in in the

:58:40. > :58:42.lead. Absolutely. I think the key word for Wales there is patience,

:58:43. > :58:46.they've been patient in terms of the build-up and managed to control the

:58:47. > :58:51.ball. Turnovers obviously have gone Ireland's way. But Wales have

:58:52. > :58:55.managed to work their way back in and I think the tries show how

:58:56. > :58:58.composed and patient they are. Maybe it's the experience of the players

:58:59. > :59:04.who have been there last year. They've worked a couple of years in

:59:05. > :59:06.the system. They've been under the kosh on occasions but certainly

:59:07. > :59:13.they've gone in deserved leaders. They were under the kosh in the

:59:14. > :59:17.first five minutes. A fantastic try. Great attacking intent from Ireland.

:59:18. > :59:23.Perhaps defensive naivety from Wales, as well. We will see the clip

:59:24. > :59:28.now. I think it's Watkin who lost his bearings in this situation. The

:59:29. > :59:33.kick was ahead. Watkin has gambled. He is thinking they're going to move

:59:34. > :59:38.it through the hands. It's great vision by McPhillips, the Irish

:59:39. > :59:42.outside half. Beautifully weighted kick over to the outside centre and

:59:43. > :59:45.Johnny shows great pace and great effort by Watkin to get back,

:59:46. > :59:50.doesn't have the pace. This is the difference between a flanker and

:59:51. > :59:54.winger going for a 50-50 ball. . You have to give huge credit to

:59:55. > :59:58.Gallagher there. That's tracking. He has gone down early. Benham has to

:59:59. > :00:03.dive on that. You can't pick up and run from there. You are two metres

:00:04. > :00:08.out. It is difficult. He is overchased. Got back and you have to

:00:09. > :00:12.dive on that ball and kill it. You were fearing the worst then but

:00:13. > :00:13.compote composure by the weigh shall -- Welsh to get back. They got back

:00:14. > :00:19.into the game. Perhaps it's the fact there are 11

:00:20. > :00:24.survivors from the last campaign, they are more experienced than their

:00:25. > :00:27.Irish counterparts, and they were back down the other side of the

:00:28. > :00:34.field, and after a concerted period of pressure, got over the line? They

:00:35. > :00:41.did. The pack have played exceptionally well. The change of

:00:42. > :00:46.direction, Domachowski almost goes across in the corner. It is about

:00:47. > :00:51.getting the ball wide, it is going through the phases, eventually, you

:00:52. > :00:55.will find some space. When Wales did that, Dafydd Hughes did

:00:56. > :01:04.exceptionally well, he understood the ruling, you can make that quick

:01:05. > :01:07.second movement and the French referee give the try. If you keep

:01:08. > :01:10.hold of the ball, you will eventually find some space. The pack

:01:11. > :01:15.have played particularly well. They have carried well. They have been

:01:16. > :01:21.heavily involved and I said Wales are probably just the better side.

:01:22. > :01:26.No room for complacency, Martyn. Pack are probably on top, very

:01:27. > :01:33.competitive at the breakdown. Ireland have looked very

:01:34. > :01:41.threatening? Mark Taylor touched upon it, a few times they looked

:01:42. > :01:46.like they were going to go 70 or 80 metres, very impressed with the work

:01:47. > :01:56.at the breakdown from the Welsh team. It is great commitment for the

:01:57. > :02:00.cause and they have reaped the benefits. Talking of commitment, he

:02:01. > :02:06.was someone that you picked out at the start of the programme, Keelan

:02:07. > :02:11.Giles, the left-winger for Wales. Just 17, looks really hungry. If he

:02:12. > :02:15.gets a bit of space, you sense he could do something special? Yes, I

:02:16. > :02:25.spoke earlier about his footwork and he's got that abilities. He look --

:02:26. > :02:33.he's got that ability. He looks a bit like Shane Williams. He is very

:02:34. > :02:37.sharp. Looks like someone who can inspire. He is not a big man, but he

:02:38. > :02:41.breaks tackles. I think Wales will be looking to get the ball wide.

:02:42. > :02:47.There might be an opportunity in terms of the counter-attack. Then

:02:48. > :02:52.you might see the best of him. Warren Gatland has identified this

:02:53. > :02:56.guy as a future international. Rob talked about the first Wales try

:02:57. > :03:00.being a result of patience and not necessarily spinning it wide too

:03:01. > :03:09.early. The second Wales try much the same? It all came from a pop at

:03:10. > :03:20.Elis-Wyn Benham for not going for a 50/50. This pass here is something

:03:21. > :03:29.we don't do enough of. Too many times you see guys tucking it under

:03:30. > :03:34.their arm and carry. It shows sometimes, that pass, two or

:03:35. > :03:38.three-metres out, is as good as a carry and run over. Difficult to

:03:39. > :03:55.stop a man of his dementions from that distance as well -- dimensions

:03:56. > :04:04.from that distance as well. The Dragons are up at half-time. The

:04:05. > :04:12.ball went through the line, a fantastic finish from Adam Hughes in

:04:13. > :04:18.the corner. Ulster have struck back, Reidy scoring for Ulster. As things

:04:19. > :04:28.stand, the Dragons are just ahead in this one. That follows on from their

:04:29. > :04:31.victory over Leinster last week. The Dragons seems to benefit when a lot

:04:32. > :04:38.of the big names are away in training camps. It is a Six Nations

:04:39. > :04:43.weekend. We have the second half coming up soon. For the rest of the

:04:44. > :04:47.weekend, stay glued to your TV set because there is plenty of Six

:04:48. > :04:57.Nations action coming your way. Another try in this sensational

:04:58. > :05:03.second half for Wales! It is an extraordinary game on an

:05:04. > :05:12.extraordinary day! We have had everything in this game! What a try

:05:13. > :05:17.for Ireland! It all kicks off tomorrow with France versus Italy

:05:18. > :05:20.followed by Scotland versus England. Wales Women open their campaign

:05:21. > :05:25.against Ireland and on Sunday, the big one, Wales face off against the

:05:26. > :05:34.double defending champions. We will digest it all that evening on a

:05:35. > :05:43.Scrum V Six Nations Special. Let's talk about the main event. These two

:05:44. > :05:47.guys are the ones who made the headlines, Rob Evans replacing

:05:48. > :05:52.Gethin Jenkins in the front row and Tom James making his first Wales

:05:53. > :05:57.start for five years. I'll ask you about Rob, Martyn. A bold call that

:05:58. > :06:01.one. It must have been a difficult conversation Warren Gatland had with

:06:02. > :06:06.Gethin Jenkins? He understands, he is an old man now, so he can't play

:06:07. > :06:10.every game. Rob's been in fantastic form for the Scarlets, so it is a

:06:11. > :06:16.big call, particularly when you think Paul James isn't on the bench.

:06:17. > :06:21.It is something - a World Cup has finished, you have to look ahead.

:06:22. > :06:24.They can't go on forever. It will be interesting - Ireland have a lot of

:06:25. > :06:28.injuries in the front row. You are hoping that he will stand up to the

:06:29. > :06:33.test. He will be fantastic around the park. You have to do that job in

:06:34. > :06:39.the scrum. Tom James, Rob, the form he's been in for the Blues,

:06:40. > :06:44.impossible to ignore? It is very much a form decision. He has matured

:06:45. > :06:49.as a player. He is more consistent now. I think Cuthbert, who has come

:06:50. > :06:56.back to a bit of form, but if you are picking someone who can do a job

:06:57. > :06:59.now, he is the right man. Paul Wallace, Ireland announced their

:07:00. > :07:05.team today, ravaged with injuries, but two big blows today, Rob Carney

:07:06. > :07:13.and O'Brien on the casualty list. What is the feeling over there? Very

:07:14. > :07:17.disappointing that O'Brien is missing, especially with the

:07:18. > :07:21.much-vaunted Welsh back row. He would have been a very valuable

:07:22. > :07:30.player for Ireland. Rob Carney as well. Ireland are looking to keep

:07:31. > :07:34.the same centre partnership they have. That might be something to do

:07:35. > :07:45.with their kick and chase game that they might go looking after Anscombe

:07:46. > :07:49.at full-back. It would not be Dublin without a few up and unders! We

:07:50. > :07:52.shall look forward to the game on Sunday. You have to run back up to

:07:53. > :07:57.the commentary point now. We will catch you in a few moments' time.

:07:58. > :08:02.Thank you for that. It is time now to return to the commentary box, the

:08:03. > :08:09.teams were on their way out behind Paul Wallace, so we can return to

:08:10. > :08:14.our commentary point. COMMENTARY: Thanks very much, Ross.

:08:15. > :08:17.I can see Paul Wallace speeding up to the commentary point to join me.

:08:18. > :08:25.There's been one change in the Irish line-up. The open-side Will Connors

:08:26. > :08:34.took a knock on the shoulder, so Kelvin Brown is on.

:08:35. > :08:40.Excellent first half. Very enjoyable, not much to choose

:08:41. > :08:44.between the two teams. Wales just edging ahead with that late, late

:08:45. > :08:49.try. And now they get a good start to the second half with a ball

:08:50. > :08:51.played back into the 22 and they have a line-out, which they can

:08:52. > :09:03.hopefully attack from. Dafydd Hughes scoring the first try

:09:04. > :09:04.for Wales. A good ball by Beard, who scored the second. Watkin on that

:09:05. > :09:20.short ball. Phillips. Declan Smith directing things around

:09:21. > :09:25.him. It's stolen by the replacement, Kelvin Brown. Interception by Dan

:09:26. > :09:36.Jones and that is an unexpected gift and Wales will take that! As Ireland

:09:37. > :09:41.tried to run the ball out, Dan Jones keeping his wits about him and he

:09:42. > :09:44.puts Wales further ahead with a try a minute into the second half. It

:09:45. > :09:52.had to be Dan Jones, didn't it? He read it so well. Ireland's passing

:09:53. > :10:03.game had been so good, but to do it in that position early on, Poland

:10:04. > :10:06.had to hold on to that ball. Good pressure and Jones using all his

:10:07. > :10:24.experience to get up there. Two penalties and two conversions,

:10:25. > :10:27.his contribution in the first half. And that try puts it up to 15 of

:10:28. > :10:43.Wales '25. He draws the kick wide, though. He

:10:44. > :10:45.will be disappointed with that, but he will be delighted with the start

:10:46. > :10:56.to the second half. Poland was always under pressure. He

:10:57. > :11:02.tried to get it to Deegan but he was asking too much and Dan Jones was

:11:03. > :11:09.aware and he knew what he had to do to get to that try line. So, the

:11:10. > :11:10.perfect finish to the first half met by the perfect start to the second

:11:11. > :11:20.for Wales. Jones clears. Keenan out to Power.

:11:21. > :11:33.Matthew Byrne has a run. Brown into the arms of Shane

:11:34. > :12:07.Lewis-Hughes. The ball has gone forward. Wales

:12:08. > :12:11.looking to use the advantage. And with Declan Smith trying to get his

:12:12. > :12:18.hands around the back of the defender to get the ball to Keelan

:12:19. > :12:21.Giles, not quite coming off. Admirable the way Ireland are trying

:12:22. > :12:28.to play the game. You have to be selective when you do off-load. You

:12:29. > :12:35.have to be getting go-forward ball to get into it. If you are flatter,

:12:36. > :12:40.you start going backwards, and you come off second best. The pressure

:12:41. > :12:41.Wales are putting on Ireland, they have to readjust and carry the ball

:12:42. > :12:52.up and reshape and get going again. That's been the key difference. The

:12:53. > :12:56.Welsh side have had a bit of patience to go through the phases,

:12:57. > :13:01.Ireland are trying to look for the miracle play too many times.

:13:02. > :13:07.REFEREE: Penalty. Good feed. You have to wait my call. Early feed.

:13:08. > :13:15.Number 9, you have to wait for my sign. Didn't wait for the referee's

:13:16. > :13:21.call or sign. I don't think I have seen that offence before. The

:13:22. > :13:26.crooked feed call. You see something new every day! Penalised for not

:13:27. > :13:34.waiting for the referee's call. There we go.

:13:35. > :13:44.That looked a bit heavy. It is. Out on the full from O'Brien. Ireland

:13:45. > :13:47.are forcing it at the moment. They have fallen 11 points behind, but

:13:48. > :13:54.they have plenty of time, there is no need to panic. You are bang on

:13:55. > :14:01.there. They have the time. You need to get back into the game, get the

:14:02. > :14:07.confidence, and you can't be forcing it. They need to get some go-forward

:14:08. > :14:11.ball and they must win the ball back here to put pressure on Wales again.

:14:12. > :14:30.Beard brings it down, Evans drives it on. Brilliant work by the Welsh

:14:31. > :14:35.pack. Smith waits. That is really too long for any Welsh chasers.

:14:36. > :14:38.After the work of the forwards, they will be disappointed the ball was

:14:39. > :14:50.given away like that. Smith has stayed down. Ireland have to build

:14:51. > :14:54.again. There is a big gap there. Great pass from McBurney. Poland

:14:55. > :14:59.gets it away to McPhillips. Good tackle by Phillips on McPhillips,

:15:00. > :15:08.but Brown is there in support. Again, Ireland have broken very,

:15:09. > :15:18.very quickly, indeed. Scrambled defence by Wales. Pressure comes on

:15:19. > :15:30.from Owen Watkin. Brown picks up and drives through the middle.

:15:31. > :15:39.The counters have been Ireland's most successful part of the game.

:15:40. > :15:46.Wales have managed to slow it down again.

:15:47. > :15:52.Poland calling for more forwards in there.

:15:53. > :16:00.REFEREE: Advantage, not pushing back. Penalty for Ireland.

:16:01. > :16:08.Cross-field kick behind Giles, but he takes it well. Again, McPhillips

:16:09. > :16:16.knew what he had to do, but it was good defending by Keelan Giles.

:16:17. > :16:23.Offside. He dealt with that quite easily. I just told you to push

:16:24. > :16:27.back. Great pass from McBurney the hooker and that one from Poland.

:16:28. > :16:31.What I love about this Irish side and their attacking play, is the

:16:32. > :16:34.trail runners. You know where they are coming and even though we can't

:16:35. > :16:38.hear it in the commentary, they are hearing it in their ears, the

:16:39. > :16:43.support play coming from behind, coming at pace and holding their

:16:44. > :16:46.depth. So few teams do that these days and we see the All Blacks do it

:16:47. > :16:58.so well. They are showing how the game should

:16:59. > :17:06.be played, if not going for that miracle pass every time. We saw an

:17:07. > :17:11.excellent line-out drive by Wales a couple of minutes ago. What odds a

:17:12. > :17:18.line-out drive here, especially with Kelvin Brown standing off? There he

:17:19. > :17:22.is, now attaching himself - Brown thundering through the middle. Did

:17:23. > :17:27.that go to ground? The try has been given very early indeed. Kelvin

:17:28. > :17:32.Brown has got the try. Wales remonstrating with the referee that

:17:33. > :17:39.the ball never got to ground. It was a very early call and it counts. The

:17:40. > :17:49.referee was well positioned. I couldn't say for sure if he got it

:17:50. > :17:51.down. It looked 50/50. I'm sure we will get a view here. There is a bit

:17:52. > :18:04.of a shift there. You need a different angle to have a

:18:05. > :18:15.look here. He breaks away and gets in ahead. Hard to see where he

:18:16. > :18:20.actually gets it down there. Corey Domachowski thought he was

:18:21. > :18:25.underneath him. It is one of those where they go over at a rate of

:18:26. > :18:27.knots and it looked like a try was written all over it but needed to

:18:28. > :18:56.make sure the grounding was there. Conversion isn't successful but the

:18:57. > :19:03.game is still very much alive. 25-19. Another try from Ulster. It

:19:04. > :19:18.is another try for the Dragons, they are 15-10 ahead. As with the first,

:19:19. > :19:26.some great handling in the build-up. Meyer created the first, he's scored

:19:27. > :19:33.the second, it is 15-7 to the Dragons. Thanks, Ross. The Dragons

:19:34. > :19:38.were worried about their away form. That is what they wanted to improve.

:19:39. > :19:43.Now they are leading 15-7 at Ulster. Let's see if they can build or hang

:19:44. > :19:47.on to that lead. A six-point game here at Donnybrook. Wales with the

:19:48. > :19:50.one-score advantage. It's been that kind of game. It can go either way

:19:51. > :20:18.any time. Out comes Jack Power. McPhillips. Kelvin Brown. He was

:20:19. > :20:27.there to regather, but it's gone forward. Ireland are the ones who

:20:28. > :20:34.are trying to pick up the pace. When you fall ten points behind, the

:20:35. > :20:35.impetus to get out there and get going... Kelvin Brown has done well

:20:36. > :20:52.since he's come on. Was it a try, wasn't it a try? It is

:20:53. > :20:58.hard to see that he got it down. But he did make a fatal error, when you

:20:59. > :21:01.have the ball, always make sure there is another player between you

:21:02. > :21:04.and the opposition, when you get that far in advance, the opposition

:21:05. > :21:10.get a hand in and that should have been a very easy try and the referee

:21:11. > :21:15.probably pre-supposed it was, but Kelvin Brown got himself isolated.

:21:16. > :21:22.Reuben Morgan-Williams is on for Wales, an injury for Ireland as

:21:23. > :21:30.well. Let's go to Phil. Thanks, Gareth. It is the SWALEC Cup last 16

:21:31. > :21:46.tomorrow. Bridgend against Cross Keys.

:21:47. > :21:59.No official SWALEC League programme tomorrow.

:22:00. > :22:10.Croesyceliog was the club of the late, great Clive Burgess. Thanks,

:22:11. > :22:21.Phil. An anorak will be needed back in Wales tomorrow as well! That is a

:22:22. > :22:26.good scrum by Wales. It's one area Ireland thought they would be a bit

:22:27. > :22:31.stronger than Wales, a very heavy pack, experience in the front row as

:22:32. > :22:36.well, but good technique, you know, it isn't always the bigger scrum

:22:37. > :22:41.that wins, it is all about how you chase et cetera and the scrum hasn't

:22:42. > :22:44.been a dominant part of the game. It gives Wales the opportunity to get

:22:45. > :22:55.back into the Irish half and back on the attack again.

:22:56. > :23:03.You hate that as a problem, you are going backwards and the back row's

:23:04. > :23:07.heads are up. The whole eight were down there. They got the shunt on.

:23:08. > :23:12.It is one thing the props never know until they go back and watch the

:23:13. > :23:21.video. And the back row then get to know about it!

:23:22. > :23:28.A clean break by the replacement scrum-half, Reuben Morgan-Williams.

:23:29. > :23:36.He didn't panic, so still Welsh ball. Good take by the prop. Lovely

:23:37. > :23:47.break by Morgan-Williams and can Wales now capitalise? Keddie.

:23:48. > :23:58.Forwards lining up, led by Dafydd Hughes, a dummy off-load. Dan Jones.

:23:59. > :24:04.Now, then, Watkin, steps, looks for the one-handed ball to Giles, but

:24:05. > :24:10.no, couldn't complete it. And relieving pressure kick by

:24:11. > :24:20.McPhillips. Was that a high tackle? No. It's a clean catch that's been

:24:21. > :24:24.awarded. Dan Jones certainly felt the weight of Peter Claffey. In

:24:25. > :24:28.fact, they are going to go to the TMO.

:24:29. > :24:34.REFEREE: I want to check there was no foul play after the kick. Shane

:24:35. > :24:38.Daly - it looked like a try was certainly on. For once, Wales not

:24:39. > :24:43.having the patience to go through the phases, maybe forcing the pass,

:24:44. > :24:49.and that kick, it was a nothing kick, so it will be interesting to

:24:50. > :25:03.see a replay of what exactly did transpire.

:25:04. > :25:30.It is going to be a penalty against 4 green. If you keep your feet, it

:25:31. > :25:50.doesn't matter. He just stuck his bottom out a

:25:51. > :25:55.little bit to make life a bit awkward for Dan Jones, it was no

:25:56. > :26:01.more than that. That is a tough call on Peter Claffey.

:26:02. > :26:07.REFEREE: There is a voluntary obstruction on 10, you know the

:26:08. > :26:12.rule. It is yellow as well! That is a poor decision. You don't have to

:26:13. > :26:16.move. You are allowed to stand your ground. The one thing you are not

:26:17. > :26:21.allowed to do is to change your line to go at the player who is kicking

:26:22. > :26:28.and he stood there. I don't think it was a penalty. That is very unlucky.

:26:29. > :26:32.We saw the kick was going nowhere and a yellow card is a shocking

:26:33. > :26:37.decision. Yes, if it was on, there was going to be a try-scoring

:26:38. > :26:47.opportunity, that is fair enough. Just lent into him possibly a shade,

:26:48. > :26:53.but... He stuck his bottom out. If his feet had moved, yes, by all

:26:54. > :26:57.means. I think - I wouldn't have called that a penalty, never mind a

:26:58. > :27:01.yellow card. That is an overreaction. I have seen penalties

:27:02. > :27:08.for shoulder charges, but I don't think I have seen them for a bottom

:27:09. > :27:21.charge before! It is an evening of firsts at Donnybrook.

:27:22. > :27:29.Dan Jones won the penalty and Dan Jones converts the penalty and that

:27:30. > :27:34.extends Wales lead to 19 points to 28, so it makes a two-score game, an

:27:35. > :27:37.important kick that one for Dan Jones. We have heard the opinion

:27:38. > :27:41.from one forward here in Donnybrook, what about back in the studio,

:27:42. > :27:51.Martyn Williams? What did you make of that one? A yellow card for that

:27:52. > :27:56.is ridiculous. Like you say, he stuck his bottom out, which is

:27:57. > :28:00.probably the first guy ever to get yellow-carded for that. A shocking

:28:01. > :28:07.decision. If you are the Welsh, you will take that all day long. Well,

:28:08. > :28:15.we are wondering what the game is coming to. I wonder what would

:28:16. > :28:23.happen if Baxter stuck his backside out - it would be a red card! He

:28:24. > :28:32.would certainly need some gas to get around it! You have to stay away

:28:33. > :28:43.from big second rows... Ireland down to 14 men.

:28:44. > :28:55.Ryan, he will have to pick up his team now. They are still in it. It

:28:56. > :29:00.is going to be that much harder. Wales are celebrating every penalty.

:29:01. > :29:04.That is one area that Wales have certainly outshone Ireland, at the

:29:05. > :29:09.breakdown fighting for the ball. You talk about size, but height is a big

:29:10. > :29:13.thing as well. Maybe a shorter side, a stockier side, they are harder to

:29:14. > :29:16.budge off the ball, but a lot of the technique work they have done is

:29:17. > :29:20.better. You look at the Irish back row in particular, all very tall,

:29:21. > :29:26.with no great deal groundhogs to get in there and fight for the ball.

:29:27. > :29:29.Nowadays, the prop forwards are probably best placed to fight for

:29:30. > :30:00.that ball. It's tight for The Dragons. We saw

:30:01. > :30:08.Giles limping. Unfortunately, for him, that's the end of the game. Joe

:30:09. > :30:25.Thomas of the ospreys comes on. Straight in the middle.

:30:26. > :30:37.The pop-up from Morgan Williams is forward to Joe Thomas.

:30:38. > :30:57.Here is a hefty character. Tipping the scales at just under 21 stone,

:30:58. > :31:05.Conor Kenny. That 900k pack has just got even bigger. Flanker Matthew

:31:06. > :31:45.Byrne joins on to the scrum. Good line speed defensively by

:31:46. > :31:49.Wales. Putting Ireland under pressure, not giving them any time

:31:50. > :31:57.to develop. Ryan. Great offload from Ryan to Power.

:31:58. > :32:11.Shaun Evans comes all the way around.

:32:12. > :32:22.That boot certainly came out. Maybe lucky just to get a penalty. Ireland

:32:23. > :32:27.not finding touch from there, even though they will have a lineout some

:32:28. > :32:33.ten metres outside the Welsh 22. In that situation they would be liking

:32:34. > :32:40.to be ten metres from the try line. -- would be looking. Some of the

:32:41. > :32:44.offloading from Ireland has been top drawer.

:32:45. > :32:53.Interesting to see what Ireland do now. The maul has looked very

:32:54. > :32:58.powerful last time around and I imagine they might go for it again.

:32:59. > :33:02.The lineouts have gone pretty much with throw. But Ireland didn't

:33:03. > :33:09.protect the possession well enough and that's good work by Dafydd

:33:10. > :33:14.Hughes. Won a few extra yards. Benham beats one man.

:33:15. > :33:21.Evades the clutches of Brown, as well.

:33:22. > :33:29.Phillips trying to get his team going forward again.

:33:30. > :33:35.Morgan Williams half-turned and that means the ball is meant to go to the

:33:36. > :33:45.air but charged down back to the hands of the scrum-half. Linked with

:33:46. > :33:52.Watkin. Back inside to Millard. That could be the killer blow for Wales.

:33:53. > :33:55.Harri Millard with a fourth try for Wales putting them over 30 points.

:33:56. > :33:59.Wales have looked so dangerous when they've got space out wide. The

:34:00. > :34:04.first half they didn't get the opportunities, but after some really

:34:05. > :34:09.good hustling work in the lineout by Wales to get that ball and once they

:34:10. > :34:14.get going forward that extra gasp they have there was extremely good.

:34:15. > :34:19.It looked like Ireland had done so well to get in there and get the

:34:20. > :34:24.hand to block down. When there is no defensive alignment there. Good

:34:25. > :34:29.awareness. He fixed Daly so well there. Two players over... It's good

:34:30. > :34:35.support play again. Like we have seen with some of the Irish forwards

:34:36. > :34:41.and support lines excellent again. Good strength by Thomas. The ball to

:34:42. > :34:46.Millard. That's excellent support play.

:34:47. > :34:54.Tracking in on the inside shoulder. Waiting for the return pass. Harri

:34:55. > :35:15.Millard rounding off nicely in the corner.

:35:16. > :35:20.Another superb touchline conversion from Dan Evans who is enjoying

:35:21. > :35:23.himself this evening. Wales at the moment looking comfortable with just

:35:24. > :35:34.over a quarter of an hour to go. They've wanted a chance to run and

:35:35. > :35:40.now they're getting it. The other games being played this evening, at

:35:41. > :35:43.half-time Scotland leading England by 12-6.

:35:44. > :35:48.A tight affair there. The other one not so. France leading

:35:49. > :35:57.Italy by 26-3. So France comfortably ahead. The

:35:58. > :36:05.other one a tight affair. This one was for a while. But now that gap

:36:06. > :36:10.has grown to 16 points. I believe a young Hastings playing in that

:36:11. > :36:11.Scotland side. Yes, indeed, following on in the family

:36:12. > :36:24.tradition. Gavin's boy. Just as I was saying the lineouts

:36:25. > :36:28.are going with throw, Ireland haven't secured the last two. The

:36:29. > :36:36.commentator's curse! This often happens, a lot of

:36:37. > :36:41.substitutions come on and it's not just the hooker and jumper, but also

:36:42. > :36:45.mainly it's the lifters coming in. Sometimes, especially when you come

:36:46. > :36:50.together the first game out, it's obviously a new team and a new year

:36:51. > :36:57.at the level, you are not used - you don't get as many reps lineout if

:36:58. > :37:03.you are the sub. You don't know who you are - back row have different

:37:04. > :37:11.foot movements and all of a sudden something goes off, you don't get up

:37:12. > :37:16.and high enough and the opposition disrupt it. In our day you just

:37:17. > :37:25.played the 80 minutes and you were stuck with the same lifters and

:37:26. > :37:35.jumpers. O'Connor has come on for the yell le-carded Peter Claffey.

:37:36. > :37:42.Conor O'Brien is the new outside half. They've under a quarter of an

:37:43. > :37:49.hour to try and turn things around. Wales record against Ireland of late

:37:50. > :37:52.has been very good at this level. Just one win in the last five for

:37:53. > :38:01.Ireland. That's Jarrod Evans who has just

:38:02. > :38:36.come on for Wales. Even though a ball has spilt, the

:38:37. > :38:43.defending has been done from an offside position.

:38:44. > :38:58.REFEREE: You interfere with the game.

:38:59. > :39:04.You feel Ireland need to score fairly soon to get back into this

:39:05. > :39:09.one. Yeah, again it's a good position to go for the maul again.

:39:10. > :39:17.Just got to get the basics right here. Get up, even if it's at a -

:39:18. > :39:28.obviously the back is the best place to set up for a maul try. Secure

:39:29. > :39:36.possession. Taken by the replacement O'Connor. There is Conor Kenny.

:39:37. > :39:49.Wales defend successfully. Get the ball to ground. O'Brien.

:39:50. > :40:05.Porter tries to go straight through on his own. Lost it and Wales

:40:06. > :40:13.immediately looking to see if there's a chance to counter, even

:40:14. > :40:19.from their own tryline. Spilt by Joe Thomas just when advantage over was

:40:20. > :40:22.called. Exciting stuff from Wales. They feel

:40:23. > :40:27.they can do that from their own try line with the luxury of a 16-point

:40:28. > :40:34.lead. It's amazing how the game has

:40:35. > :40:37.slipped away. That was one of the facets there, Wales' ability at the

:40:38. > :40:41.breakdown to disrupt the Irish defence. We saw Wales so many times

:40:42. > :40:45.in the first half where they went through the phases and Ireland never

:40:46. > :40:48.really challenged hard enough at the breakdown to take ball back. They

:40:49. > :40:53.went through, had patience and scored. For Ireland the opposite.

:40:54. > :40:57.It's been a case of once they get through, yes some beautiful play and

:40:58. > :41:02.great offloading play, but eventually it's some of that great

:41:03. > :41:08.Welsh work at the breakdown, hands getting in and turnovers have been a

:41:09. > :41:12.massive part of Wales' presumably victory at this stage. Having seen

:41:13. > :41:16.that again Wales will be disappointed. Watkin drew the winger

:41:17. > :41:20.perfectly and Joe Thomas just had a look up and he would have seen it

:41:21. > :41:25.was James Ryan the captain tracking across and he would have backed

:41:26. > :41:31.himself I think to have... I think he would have, especially at this

:41:32. > :41:40.late stage against a second row that's been working away and up

:41:41. > :41:49.front. Ryan is an athletic second row. Certainly one that again I

:41:50. > :41:56.think the coaching staff will be keeping a close eye on. Leon Brown

:41:57. > :42:10.there, another young man to keep an eye on.

:42:11. > :42:18.Another very good prospect. Dillon Lewis highly regarded, as is Leon

:42:19. > :42:27.Brown. They're confident in the scrum. It

:42:28. > :42:30.was solid first time. Jarrod Evans, a complicated move. Wales

:42:31. > :42:36.overconfident at the moment. They're making life difficult for

:42:37. > :42:45.themselves. Overcomplicating moves behind.

:42:46. > :42:52.It's kept in play by Daly. Wales under pressure in their own

:42:53. > :43:02.22. Have to be careful. They're giving

:43:03. > :43:07.away penalties, possibly a card. Daly drops it. They will get a

:43:08. > :43:15.penalty. A shrill blast. There will be a word at least with the captain,

:43:16. > :43:21.if not more. Sounds like a yellow card blast of the whistle. Wales put

:43:22. > :43:32.themselves in this position really. It's a final warning, rather than a

:43:33. > :43:50.yellow card. There's been a few, not been too

:43:51. > :43:55.green-eyed here, I hope, there's been a few cynical penalties given

:43:56. > :44:00.away by Wales when Ireland have gone forward. At 71 minutes if you are

:44:01. > :44:17.going to make a call it's probably the time. Leon Brown comes on and so

:44:18. > :44:21.does Morgan Sieniawski. He replaces Harrison Keddie. The new boys will

:44:22. > :44:24.have to fit into the defensive pattern, five metres from the try

:44:25. > :44:29.line. This is it for Ireland. They need a

:44:30. > :44:35.score from here. They need three scores to get back into this one. A

:44:36. > :44:38.drive on from the line out. No, well driven back by Wales. Away from the

:44:39. > :44:42.whitewash. It's there, though, for Ireland.

:44:43. > :44:51.Poland has a look one way. Leaves it for the forwards.

:44:52. > :44:59.The pick and go again towards that Welsh try line. Sglp

:45:00. > :45:05.McBurney. Offside again for Wales. This could be a yellow card.

:45:06. > :45:15.Ireland still pressing. Again they go for the Hail Mary.

:45:16. > :45:19.Williams didn't catch it cleanly. It went forward. The try won't stand.

:45:20. > :45:25.They'll have to come back for the penalty.

:45:26. > :45:28.Great maul defence by Wales. It's intelligent defending. When you are

:45:29. > :45:33.trying to defend on your own line you have to twist and turn and get

:45:34. > :45:37.in and that's what Wales are doing so well, they're not leaving that

:45:38. > :45:43.Irish platform set up and by twisting it and driving in from the

:45:44. > :45:47.side then they've disrupted what should have been a well-designed

:45:48. > :45:54.maul. Should have scored there. That was coming. Final warning was

:45:55. > :46:00.issued. Another penalty given. It's Adam Beard who suffers for the team.

:46:01. > :46:06.Ireland have seven-and-a-half minutes to find three scores. Wales

:46:07. > :46:24.have to do a lot of defending with 14 men.

:46:25. > :46:36.REFEREE: I will explain time for you to go. Seven minutes, 30 seconds to

:46:37. > :46:46.go. Another patching up job. Max Deegan.

:46:47. > :46:52.He had to leave the field in the first half to be stitched up. It's

:46:53. > :46:57.been a good contest, Paul. It has. Entertaining rugby. Yeah, we were

:46:58. > :47:00.talking about yellow cards, but there's been little cynical play

:47:01. > :47:09.compared to what we see at senior level these days. A lot of ambition

:47:10. > :47:12.to play the ball. I thought Ireland looked played great offloading

:47:13. > :47:15.rugby. The technique work, especially at the breakdown by

:47:16. > :47:22.Wales, the scrum was a little better, and that cutting edge out

:47:23. > :47:34.wide, the pace there tends to be what bittual at that level --

:47:35. > :47:40.habitual. Bryce Morgan comes on. They look to try to prevent the

:47:41. > :47:46.rolling, driving lineout maul from Ireland. McBurney is in there. So is

:47:47. > :47:51.Poland. Wales manage to stop them. Tom Phillips did extremely well.

:47:52. > :47:56.Again that's superb defence of the driving lineout by Wales. Tom

:47:57. > :48:01.Phillips very much at the helm. Excellent maul defence. It's the

:48:02. > :48:04.unseen work there, getting in, getting a hand in on the ball.

:48:05. > :48:08.Ireland will be disappointed they didn't get a platform and protect

:48:09. > :48:13.the ball carrier. Poland having to go in there. I think that man Tom

:48:14. > :48:18.Phillips, he is a hard grafter in there. Smart play by Wales, as well.

:48:19. > :48:23.Keeping their discipline there. We talked about the breakdown how good

:48:24. > :48:28.they were in that area. The maul defence, as well, outside the one

:48:29. > :48:33.try Ireland did score has stood up very well.

:48:34. > :48:39.A couple more replacements for Ireland.

:48:40. > :48:44.A couple more replacements for O'Connor battles for the lineout.

:48:45. > :48:49.Wales have it. Morgan Williams gets it away down

:48:50. > :48:58.field. Fielded by Keenan. Power back inside to Keenan. Good

:48:59. > :49:03.tackle by Sieniawski. Again Wales battling hard at that

:49:04. > :49:17.breakdown area. Thought they had it for a moment. New scrum-half Stephen

:49:18. > :49:18.Kerins gets it away. Time is definitely running out for Ireland

:49:19. > :49:49.now to get three scores. Now Wales again go wide. Any chance

:49:50. > :50:02.they can. Williams looking for the inside ball from Joe Thomas.

:50:03. > :50:10.Jack Pour having some treatment. Could be gaps there. -- Power.

:50:11. > :50:14.Watkin slightly behind him. He glides back in-- glides back inside.

:50:15. > :50:22.Such a strong runner Watkin. Hughes is there for Wales.

:50:23. > :50:27.They can certainly nail it from here. Watkin so strong on his feet.

:50:28. > :50:33.Two, three players to bring him down. Phillips. He has been really

:50:34. > :50:37.such a workman-like performance from the captain. Led by example. Almost

:50:38. > :50:42.up to the try line again Wales. This time Ireland have smuggled the ball

:50:43. > :50:48.back and a chance for Kerins to get it away. The effort put in by Tom

:50:49. > :50:56.Phillips tonight has been superb. He has led by example. Wales came so

:50:57. > :51:01.close to a fifth. There is Phillips. Doesn't have the ability to put

:51:02. > :51:09.Watkin on the outside line. Really no lack of effort from anyone

:51:10. > :51:27.in red this evening. Everybody gets a chance to get some

:51:28. > :51:34.piece of the action. More changes in the Welsh pack. That's Dafydd Hughes

:51:35. > :51:41.leaving, he scored the first try for Wales and his replacement wearing

:51:42. > :51:45.16, Evan Phillips, son of former Wales hooker Kevin Phillips. So it's

:51:46. > :51:48.a chip off the old block. I have seen a proud father and family in

:51:49. > :52:00.the crowd here this evening at Donnybrook.

:52:01. > :52:20.First throw, though, over the top and into Irish hands.

:52:21. > :52:34.Three-and-a-half minutes remaining. Penalty goes Ireland's way.

:52:35. > :52:40.It has been a fiercely fought battle. We just mentioned the former

:52:41. > :52:46.Wales hooker Kevin Phillips and guess what? He is with Phil now.

:52:47. > :52:54.Kevin, congratulations, how does it feel to see your lad winning his

:52:55. > :52:57.first under-20s cap? It's been a long time coming and I am proud of

:52:58. > :53:01.him and let's hope all the hard work he has done will be paid off in the

:53:02. > :53:08.end. You know what it's like to win against Ireland. You played in 87.

:53:09. > :53:10.Give us a prediction for Sunday. I think the state the Welsh are in at

:53:11. > :53:14.the moment they're going to cruise it, I think. A big win for Wales, I

:53:15. > :53:15.think. Great to see you. Lovely to talk to you again. Thank you very

:53:16. > :53:25.much. Yeah, thanks, Phil. Nice to hear

:53:26. > :53:30.from a proud dad. Ireland throw everything at it now in the closing

:53:31. > :53:36.stages. Fenton. Wales have defended

:53:37. > :53:39.manfully. Early onslaught, got the try for Ireland for Gallagher but

:53:40. > :53:44.only one since then. At the start of the second half from

:53:45. > :53:47.Kelvin Brown. Wales have held them out. They've been very mart in the

:53:48. > :53:56.breakdown area. -- very smart.

:53:57. > :54:08.Gallagher protects. Back for Fenton.

:54:09. > :54:14.O'Connor. Phillips tackles low on Gallagher.

:54:15. > :54:17.Kerins goes in. Out it comes to O'Brien.

:54:18. > :54:21.Tackle comes in from Morgan-Williams.

:54:22. > :54:25.This time there is quicker ball. Eventually there is space for Shane

:54:26. > :54:30.Daly to cross over. It will be a consolation score for Ireland. Wales

:54:31. > :54:35.will be disappointed to yield late on. Fair play to Ireland, they kept

:54:36. > :54:37.on fighting. It will be too late. Wales still should emerge as

:54:38. > :54:43.winners. Good play by Ireland. O'Brien, in

:54:44. > :54:50.particular, managed to take on his man. Good leg drive, keeps going. He

:54:51. > :54:54.is not held. Quick hands here to Daly. If any player on the Irish

:54:55. > :54:59.side deserved a try it was Daly. He saved a number of tries. His

:55:00. > :55:05.all-round contribution has been excellent tonight. He is certainly a

:55:06. > :55:09.player for the future. He may not be - it may not be an Irish win but I

:55:10. > :55:14.am sure he will remember that try fondly. Wales a man short, of

:55:15. > :55:17.course. It's Benham the winger who is off and Ireland vr Ireland making

:55:18. > :55:22.good use that was space on that side to score the try.

:55:23. > :55:26.Not converted. But it will be a little consolation for Ireland for

:55:27. > :55:28.all the effort they put in this evening. Time for one more play.

:55:29. > :55:49.Then they can wrap it up. The clock turns red. Jarrod Evans

:55:50. > :55:56.restarts. Wales' record against Ireland at

:55:57. > :56:02.under-20 level continues. 19-12 it was last year. A few more points and

:56:03. > :56:09.tries this evening. The result is the same.

:56:10. > :56:13.Well taken by Keenan. Ireland showing what they're capable

:56:14. > :56:27.of late on, as well. They go wide. It's spilt by

:56:28. > :56:32.O'Connor. That is that. Wales have come away

:56:33. > :56:41.to Donnybrook and they've started their 2016 campaign with a victory.

:56:42. > :56:47.Thoroughly entertaining game. 49 points, seven tries but it was 4-3

:56:48. > :56:53.After early Irish promise, Wales showing their strength in defence

:56:54. > :56:57.and their ability in attack and good value for their win by 35-24. An

:56:58. > :57:02.excellent game all-round, Paul. It certainly was. I think the game

:57:03. > :57:09.turned on its head, those minutes around half-time. Wales getting that

:57:10. > :57:16.try before and then Jones, who for me was the standout player for Wales

:57:17. > :57:19.tonight the way his - after half-time it really put Ireland to

:57:20. > :57:22.the sword and Wales grew in confidence after that. A more

:57:23. > :57:25.professional, clinical performance, especially in some of the basics

:57:26. > :57:30.like the breakdown and the maul defence. Some sparkling back play,

:57:31. > :57:36.as well. Well-deserved win by Wales. It was a tight game for 50 minutes

:57:37. > :57:40.but Wales managing to break clear in the last half hour and some very

:57:41. > :57:44.encouraging signs. It's going to be a squad effort. We will see some

:57:45. > :57:52.changes I day Stansted Airport for the next game. An excellent start

:57:53. > :57:58.for the Welsh boys. -- some changes, I dare say.

:57:59. > :58:05.A final score of Ireland under-20s, 24, Wales under-20s, 35.

:58:06. > :58:13.After scoring on the cusp of half-time it was a dream start for

:58:14. > :58:16.the second half for Wales. Jones showing instinct to go over with

:58:17. > :58:21.that interception try after a minute of the second half. Ireland struck

:58:22. > :58:26.back. Kelvin Brown bowling over. Then they saw yellow for what was

:58:27. > :58:30.described as possibly the most ridiculous yellow card we have seen.

:58:31. > :58:34.This was probably the pick of the bunch from Wales. Great build-up

:58:35. > :58:39.work from Thomas and Millard crossing for Wales fourth try of the

:58:40. > :58:46.night. Ireland had the last word, though. The game was Wales by then.

:58:47. > :58:50.An 11-point victory. A deserved victory, as well. The stats tell an

:58:51. > :59:05.interesting story. They were the winners according to

:59:06. > :59:08.the stats, Ireland. There is only one genuine statistic, and that's

:59:09. > :59:10.the scoreboard. Wales were winners on the night. We can talk now to the

:59:11. > :59:26.winning captain. What did you think of the

:59:27. > :59:32.performance? Really good performance by the boys. We expected the first

:59:33. > :59:36.20 to be a dog fight. Ireland didn't let us dawn. It was tough. Showed a

:59:37. > :59:39.lot of commitment for the boys to work hard especially the last ten in

:59:40. > :59:42.our defensive line. Great commendment to the boys. It was a

:59:43. > :59:47.fast game. Do you think the pitch helped? Yeah, again we expected the

:59:48. > :59:52.game to be fast. We wanted to play a fast game especially on the

:59:53. > :59:59.artificial. We prepared for it. It's tough coming out and playing on it.

:00:00. > :00:12.They were a big side of the front. A lot of press about their front row.

:00:13. > :00:16.I think we did well to get the edge there and it was a game change. You

:00:17. > :00:24.get a chance to watch Wales on Sunday? I will try my best. Rooting

:00:25. > :00:28.for the boys. I think we will all watch it and hoping for a win as

:00:29. > :00:37.well. You did your club and your school proud. Well done. Many

:00:38. > :00:44.congratulations to Tom Phillips who was on our sofa on Sunday and he

:00:45. > :00:47.performed well there as well. That was a brilliant all-round

:00:48. > :00:53.performance. The pack were released wrong. A cutting edge behind. A

:00:54. > :00:56.fantastic start. It doesn't matter what age group, if you go to

:00:57. > :01:01.Ireland, it is always difficult to come away with a win. Not only the

:01:02. > :01:06.commitment, the skill level was first class. They deserve a pat on

:01:07. > :01:11.the back. Dan Jones was the man of the match for some. He showed a

:01:12. > :01:20.predatory instinct in the second half. The game was on a knife edge.

:01:21. > :01:27.This was draped from the kick-off. Wales got turned over. It happened a

:01:28. > :01:37.lot in the first half. This time, Dan Jones has sped out of the line

:01:38. > :01:43.and great anticipation from Dan Jones. Ireland were chasing the game

:01:44. > :01:53.from then on in. A perfect start to the second half. He has had an

:01:54. > :02:02.outstanding games. A couple of minutes left for the Dragons. They

:02:03. > :02:11.are clinging onto their lead Ulster. Back to Donnybrook. Jason strange is

:02:12. > :02:15.with Phil. Congratulations. How pleasing was that performance?

:02:16. > :02:22.Really pleased with large part of it. Ireland were very good side. It

:02:23. > :02:26.showed we were a little bit rusty in the first 15-20 minutes. When we got

:02:27. > :02:32.up to the speed of the game, the intensity, we were really pleased.

:02:33. > :02:37.Particularly in defence. A good start for us. Scotland next week. Do

:02:38. > :02:45.you keep the same side? We will look to give other boys opportunities. We

:02:46. > :02:48.will be looking to expose as many players as possible during the six

:02:49. > :02:54.Nations and by the time we get to the World Cup we will be hopefully

:02:55. > :03:00.in a good place. Good to be going back up there? It will be a

:03:01. > :03:09.fantastic atmosphere, particularly after this performance. Well done.

:03:10. > :03:14.Have a good night. Congratulations to him. Another score update. Paddy

:03:15. > :03:21.Jackson has knocked over a penalty for Ulster so they have crept into a

:03:22. > :03:27.17-15 lead. Dragons not much time to get back into that. We have about a

:03:28. > :03:32.minute left ourselves. We turn our attention to the big game on Sunday.

:03:33. > :03:40.Everybody is looking forward with huge anticipation. Your prediction?

:03:41. > :03:47.I've got to go for Wales. They are a far more settled side than Ireland.

:03:48. > :03:52.Coming off a World Cup where they have lost key players, I think Wales

:03:53. > :04:02.stand every chance. Win this game and it takes you forward in the

:04:03. > :04:10.tournament. Wales or Ireland? Wales. A confident studio. That's it from

:04:11. > :04:14.us. The only 20s -- under 20s have kept their part of the bargain.

:04:15. > :04:23.Could it be an omen for the big game on Sunday? We'll see you then.

:04:24. > :04:29.COMMENTATOR: Everything to play for. Jonathan Davies, what a handoff! The

:04:30. > :04:42.flag is up. Leigh Halfpenny puts Wales into an early lead. Dan

:04:43. > :04:54.Biggar. Scott Williams is in! That is what he can bring! This is

:04:55. > :04:58.looking good. Wales have won the match! We have had an absolute

:04:59. > :05:00.thriller in Cardiff. Wales can celebrate.