DUBLIN - Improved Ireland added to Wales' miserable 2020 on Friday with a 32-9 win in the opening game of the new Autumn Nations Cup that has replaced the usual mix of northern versus southern hemisphere clashes derailed by Covid-19.
Ireland's scrum exerted its dominance early on with Andrew Porter giving a crumpling Rhys Carre a torrid time to provide the platform for Quinn Roux to grab the opening try after 23 minutes and help Ireland to a worthy 16-6 halftime lead.
Wales could only briefly cut the deficit to seven points and last year's Six Nations grand slam winners and World Cup semi-finalists were well on the way to a sixth loss in a row when Ireland's New Zealand-born wing James Lowe got a deserved debut try.
Andy Farrell's Ireland side may have to travel to England for what could be a Pool A decider next week without captain Johnny Sexton after their influential flyhalf left the game with less than half an hour on the clock due to a hamstring injury.
#TeamOfUs
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) November 13, 2020
𝗙![CDATA[]]>𝗿![CDATA[]]>𝗶![CDATA[]]>𝗱![CDATA[]]>𝗮![CDATA[]]>𝘆 𝗡![CDATA[]]>𝗶![CDATA[]]>𝗴![CDATA[]]>𝗵![CDATA[]]>𝘁, 𝗗![CDATA[]]>𝗼![CDATA[]]>𝗻![CDATA[]]>𝗲 𝗥![CDATA[]]>𝗶![CDATA[]]>𝗴![CDATA[]]>𝗵![CDATA[]]>𝘁! 👊 💚
We’re off to a winning start in the #GuinnessSeries and #AutumnNationsCup 🤩 #ShoulderToShoulder #IREvWAL pic.twitter.com/QIrdTmkQXy
Reuters