Rampant Ireland rout Wales 36-15
 |
Story Tools
|
DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) -- A rampant Ireland ran in six tries to beat Wales 36-15 in the Six Nations, chalking up their first win of this year's tournament.
What was expected to be one of the closest games of the tournament turned out to be almost entirely one-sided from the moment hooker Shane Byrne slipped off a ruck to score a try after just 58 seconds.
Bryne later claimed a second try and there were also two for returning captain Brian O'Driscoll and one each for Ronan O'Gara and Anthony Foley.
Wales, who looked nothing like the side that ripped through Scotland 23-10 last week, finally steadied and replied with two tries from replacement center Tom Shanklin.
However Ireland, disappointing in their 35-17 defeat in Paris, had already done more than enough to secure their fifth successive win over their Celtic rivals.
After two matches, England and France top the Six Nations standings with two victories apiece. The world champions won in 35-13 Edinburgh on Saturday while France beat Italy 25-0 in Paris.
Wales and Ireland have one win each while Scotland and Italy have each lost twice.
The only sour note for Ireland was injuries suffered by lock Donnacha O'Callaghan, making his first start, and by impressive center Gordon D'Arcy.
Coach Eddie O'Sullivan will want them back in his squad before the daunting trip to Twickenham on March 6.
'Done and dusted'
"It got a bit disrupted at the end but with six tries by then it was probably done and dusted so I'm very happy with that win," O'Sullivan told the BBC.
"The key today was the way our pack played and in the first 20 minutes we set down a marker. We were very aggressive and really put the Welsh on the back foot.
"It would have set us back if we'd lost but its given us some momentum going into the game against England."
O'Driscoll, who looked superb despite his long lay-off, said it was good to be back.
"It was a great atmosphere to be involved in," said the captain.
"To score 36 points against a Welsh side who have looked as good as they have in the last few months we are delighted."
It was down to earth with a bump for the Welsh but Martyn Williams, captain in place of the injured Colin Charvis, said the players would be able to deal with the disappointment.
"This group has been though a lot together," he said.
"We had a very poor Six Nations last season and came through that. This has been a setback but we knew as a side we weren't the finished article and it takes time to get there. In the first half we were very poor we were totally outplayed in every aspect."
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
