When does a score fairly reflect a game? Andy Farrell and Warren Gatland had different ideas, with the latter insisting Ireland’s 31-7 victory was not representative of the efforts of his young Wales team. When the suggestion was put to Farrell, he retorted with as much confidence as his team has been showing these days.
“I thought we were supposed to have 40,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye. “We got what we deserved in the end. I thought Wales defended well at times but I thought we should have been further ahead in the first half. All kinds of things were happening. Some of them were of our own making, But mostly it was because we faced a tough Wales team. So congratulations to them.
“We wanted to do better today, but the opposition always has a say. Because we dominated the first half, I felt we could have had a better lead at half-time. I thought We were in the right positions in the second half but there were penalties everywhere. But again we found a way to get a result.”
Wales’ only points came from a penalty try early in the second half, with Tadhg Beirne scoring a bonus point with his fourth try but was deemed to have changed his grip on the maul side and was shown a yellow card . “I was a little confused about the penalty try,” Farrell said. “You couldn’t see if the ball hit the ground. I didn’t understand how it could be a penalty, but obviously it was. So we’ll take it as it is.”
Ireland suffered a lopsided penalty shootout in the second half, but the opposite happened in the first half. “We couldn’t get a foothold in the first half,” Gatland said. “There were some calls directed at us. It was hard to get any momentum.”
France next play in Cardiff and Gatland believes Wales will benefit greatly from this performance. “We showed great heart and character. The score may not be correct, but it does reflect the difference between the two sides – the difference in experience between us and them.”
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Gatland believes Ireland have the ability to become the first team in the Six Nations era to win back-to-back Grand Slams. “They are definitely capable of doing it. They have a lot of experience and a cool head. I think they will be a tough team to beat.”
