It will go down as Wales’ tenth defeat in 11 Six Nations games and a third loss on the bounce in this campaign as tries from Dan Sheehan, James Lowe, Keiron Crowley and Tadhg Beirne would seal a bonus point win for the Irish.
At times though Gatland’s young side would show promise but would lack a ruthless and clinical edge when presented with opportunities.
Ireland would prove too powerful and robust and never looked back after hooker Sheehan clambered away from a sea of bodies to score the first try of the match mid-way through the first half following a driving maul.
After multiple phases of play, the Welsh defence would be breached once more ten minutes later with Leinster winger Lowe finishing a sweeping move in the corner to put daylight on the scoreboard at the break.
Gatland’s side, rank outsiders for the match, however, showed resolve and kept their discipline to pull their way back into the match minutes after the restart. Multiple errors after a series of mauls seeing Irish lock Tadhg Beirne sent to the sin bin and Wales awarded a penalty try.
Wales would not capitalise on the extra men in a decent spell and back to a full quota fly-half Crowley would extend the home side’s advantage going over under the posts after a spell of pressure.
The visitors would huff and puff with Aaron Wainwright adjudged to not quite ground a chance late on to narrow the scores. It would be the Irish who would have the last laugh with Beirne adding gloss to the scoreboard whilst helping his side pick up the try bonus point in added time.
Despite the loss, Gatland would see the positives in his team’s play.
“We showed some great heart and character today,” said Gatland.
“I have no doubt where we’re going, this team is going to be an excellent team going forward when we get some more experience.
“We’ve played against one of the best teams in the world. Eight or nine of their team are over 30 and have been around for a while.
“They’ve got the experience and the composure. Players who can carry and get them on the front foot.
“I think they’re definitely capable of doing it [winning back-to-back Grand Slams], they’ll be a hard team to knock over.
“I was disappointed with that first half; it was difficult to gain momentum. If you go through the penalties, we questioned whether some of them were some pretty tough calls.
“We’ve worked hard in terms of trying to be accurate and not be ill-disciplined, giving away easy ins or outs for the opposition.
“We’ve got to take it on the chin. Even for that first half, we came out and stayed in the game. I thought we showed some real character and fight, probably up to that 70-minute point.
“We weren’t as clinical as we wanted to be and didn’t impose our attacking game as much as we would have liked or create a huge amount of space.
“At 17-7, attacking their 22, we didn’t come away with anything.
“There were a few turnovers in a few areas. It didn’t give us that opportunity to shift the ball and play, but they’re a good side both in defence and attack.
“I think we take a huge amount from this. The players will have got a lot out of today.
“I thought the scoreline probably isn’t right, but it probably reflects where the two sides are in terms of that experience.”
[Lead image: Welsh Rugby Union]
