Both teams entered this match with the realisation that a victory meant a quarter-final place and a defeat secured the tickets for the plane journey home.
It was an inadequate and directionless Welsh team that appeared on the pitch of Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Wales, playing this dire and uninspiring rugby, failed to advance into the last eight of the competition for the second successive Rugby World Cup. Ireland, for the third successive tournament, progressed to the quarter-finals.
The Irish had put fourteen points on the scoreboard in the opening twelve minutes of the match. Fly half Eric Elwood failed early on to put the Irish on the scoreboard after missing a penalty. It was from one of his superb positional kicks, from his own half deep into Welsh territory, that Ireland’s first score came. The Irish won the ball and charged at the Welsh defence; they could not stop prop Nick Popplewell from crossing the line. Elwood converted without much ado.
Ireland wasted no time in securing their second try of the game. Denis McBride stormed away from a line-out. He evaded the Welsh defence and touched down near the posts, providing an easy conversion for Elwood. Thankfully for the Welsh, the Irish statistic of gaining a point for every minute played slowed after their second try. Neil Jenkins, having already failed to slot over one penalty, secured his second effort to put the first points on the scoreboard for Wales. Adrian Davies achieved a drop goal, taking the score to 14-6 as the teams went into the interval.
Jenkins reduced the gap to five points after the resumption of the game following another successful penalty conversion. Although the Welsh dominated territory and possession in the third quarter they were unable to gather enough momentum to notch up a try. Instead, Ireland, having been under pressure from the lacklustre Welsh, secured their third of the game. Eddie Halvey, a replacement for McBride, scored the five-pointer having been set-up by Niall Hogan and Patrick Johns. The flanker had been on the field for a mere four minutes.
The last ten minutes of remaining play provided the most entertainment in an otherwise dismal performance. Wales set up Jonathan Humphreys, winning his second cap, for the first try. As Jenkins converted the possibility of a Welsh success presented itself. As Elwood added another three points to the Irish score, taking the tallies to 24-16, the possibility started to slip away from the Welsh grasp. However, New Zealand born Hemi Taylor secured Wales’s second try. With only three points in it, Neil Jenkins stepped up to take the conversion. He succeeded, but unfortunately for Wales, their time had finally run out.
This eleventh-hour rally from Wales was too little too late and they could not deny the Irish their win, or their quarter-final place. In one of their worst international performances, Wales lacked passion and tactical awareness. For the second tournament in a row Wales would head home early. The only consolation was that they would not have to endure the rigmarole of the qualification process; as hosts their entry to the 1999 Rugby World Cup was secure.
