That much said, this fixture, the third played in the Rugby World Cup involving full members of the IRFB, was the least inspiring and the windy conditions at Athletic Park, Wellington, ensured a game of two conflicting halves.
Ireland won the toss and Captain Donal Lenihan nominated Wales to play into the wind. In a post-match interview, Wales Captain, Richard Moriarty (of Swansea RFC), disclosed that it had been his intention to choose this strategy himself had he won the toss; to assist his team in adjusting to the pace of the match after a lay off of nearly six weeks. More obviously, to use the wind to Wales’s advantage in the second half.
Ireland failed to accumulate points on the board in the first half to compensate for their windy second half, when the likelihood of scoring would be reduced. The Irish were especially weakened due to the loss of their flanker Phil Matthews. Michael Kiernan landed two penalties, due to an offside offence from Stuart Evans in first-half injury time and a high tackle on Keith Crossan courtesy of John Devereux in the forty-fifth minute.
Paul Thorburn scored the Wales’s only penalty of the game two minutes after the restart, but Wales had to wait a quarter of an hour into the second half for their first, and only, try of the match. Centre Mark Ring picked up a loose ball and did well to hold on to ensure Welsh possession. The ball was passed to Hadley, who had Thorburn in support. After dummying his way infield, Thorburn fed Devereux on his outside who adeptly flicked the ball out to Ring to score on the right.
Fly half Jonathan Davies landed his first drop-goal of the match nine minutes later. He added a further three points with his second in the sixty-seventh minute of the match taking the score, and final tally, to 13-6 in favour of Wales.
Wales’s first result in the Rugby World Cup increased the likelihood of Ireland having to meet co-host nation Australia in the quarter-finals; providing, of course, that the two home sides could both win their remaining two matches, which would see Wales top the pool. Wales topping the pool would mean they would face the opposition pool’s runner-up, most likely to be old enemy England; a less-daunting prospect than meeting Australia, especially considering England’s form in the recent Five Nations Championship where Wales had beaten them 19-12 at Cardiff Arms Park.
