Wales Women coach Geraint Lewis is buoyed by his side’s improved performance shown and 15-13 win over Ireland.
Replacement scrum-half Keira Bevan crashed over for a last minute try to clinch the victory after fellow replacement Sioned Harries had stormed to score the side’s first try midway through the second-half. Vitally, centre Robyn Wilkins converted that first effort and slotted a penalty early in the first-half.
Lewis said, “I think we deserved the win in the end today. It was pleasing to see the improvement from last weekend. You can see the difference in the girls’ performance with an extra game and an extra week’s training under their belt.”
Wales showed intent from the off but the Irish were equally determined and scored the only try of the first-half through Linda Djougang after an initial break from full-back Eimear Considine. Despite some great ball-carrying from the likes of Gwenllian Pyrs, Siwan Lillicrap and Beth Lewis, Wales were unable to put any points on the board and went in 5-0 at the break.
Ireland came out strong again in the second-half and were rewarded with a try for Enya Breen at 44 minutes. Wilkins’ penalty came soon after, closing the gap to 10-3. The pendulum began to turn with Harries’ score and although Ireland hit straight back with a penalty of their own, Wales had the final word with Bevan’s score at the death.
Coach Chris Horsman addresses the team after a winning perfomance
“We can take something from most areas of the game today – forwards and backs,” added Lewis. Our workrate was higher and we showed more cohesion. It’s tough playing the first match of any series but we made steps forward today and hopefully we can build on that ahead of Scotland next Sunday.
“Ireland put us under a lot of pressure, especially in the first half but we hung in there in defence and scored some good tries too.”
“Our character was admirable and if we can show that again next week and produce similar level of performance, we will give ourselves a good chance.”
Skipper @SiwanLillicrap is thrilled with the step-up in intensity shown by the whole squad today. #WalesWomen beat Ireland 15-13 with a last minute try for @keirabevan14 to follow second-half score for @SionedHarries, extras from @RobynWilkins10 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/iWEgNuBC79
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏉 (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 10, 2019
