Ireland came within a whisker of doing the double over Warren Gatland's Wales, as a Sean Cronin try was held up in the last play of the game.
Ireland very nearly stole it at the death, but the hard-working Welsh defence did enough to hold Sean Cronin up over the tryline.
In what was Paul O' Connell's final game for Ireland on home soil didn’t quite go to plan, a serious-looking injury to Keith Earls overshadowing the great man’s last bow as Joe Schmidt’s side were beaten by Wales. O’Connell got a deservedly brilliant reception throughout, but will be disappointed with elements of his team’s performance.
The visitors were just about physically superior and won the breakdown contest, led by the ultra-skillful Justin Tipuric.
Earls was stretchered off in a neck brace in the second half of the game, after lying motionless for some time close to one of the sidelines. Joe Schmidt,s day got worse soon after as Luke Fitzgerald limped off with an apparent hip problem.
There were several positives for Ireland in defeat, namely strong individual displays from the likes of the Iain Henderson who is laying down a serious claim for a starting spot at the World Cup, fullback Rob Kearney and Robbie Henshaw.
Leigh Halfpenny’s place-kicking was immaculate, as he scored 11 of the Welsh points, the Welsh pack munching their way over the Irish tryline for a first-half maul try too.
The strong feeling that this encounter would be a step up in quality from the sides’ meeting in Cardiff earlier this month was confirmed within minutes as both contributed to a notable tempo, Ireland perhaps the sharper initially.
Understandable errors from a number of rusty Irishmen snuck in, however, with Richardt Strauss’ side entry at ruck time allowing Wales to open the scoring soon after Henderson had been pinged for not rolling away.
The balanced kicking technique of Halfpenny meant Wales led 3-0 after the second infringement, with 18 minutes on the clock.
More Ireland errors allowed Gatland’s side position for the opening try soon after, Strauss and Ireland’s lineout failing to click before Rob Kearney made a rare spill under a Welsh bomb.
Some lovely handling by the Welsh, Dan Biggar in particular, brought them within range, then a series of penalties against Ireland, two for collapsing mauls, eventually saw Wales’ maul trundle over from close-range, prop Gethin Jenkins the man to dot down at the rear.
Halfpenny’s conversion saw Wales 10-0 up but Sexton brought Ireland onto the scoreboard soon after, converting a 30th-minute penalty after Alun-Wyn Jones had failed to roll away in time and referee Craig Joubert punished him.
Schmidt’s men finished the half on top and deep in the Wales 22, with Sexton’s cross-field dink almost allowing Earls to gather and race in to score. The Munster wing spilled the ball, but Ireland won a penalty at the subsequent scrum.
Scrum-half Murray set them haring at the Welsh line, before the imposing Henderson impressively smashed his way over from five metres out, beating the tackles of multiple defenders as he did so.
Ireland started the second half as they had left off, Dave Kearney thrusting forward before Murray found Jack McGrath running at space. However, the Welsh defence set a firm tone with their defensive response, ending with a Jenkins turnover penalty.
Schmidt’s men went close with a clever lineout peel to the front from close to the Wales tryline soon after, but replacement Sean O’Brien – otherwise impressive and impactful – was ruled by the TMO to have spilled the ball forward.
The Welsh looked more comfortable as the game became looser too, asking questions of an Ireland defence that was forced to shift side-to-side.
Halfpenny sent the Welsh ahead directly after Earls had left the field, punishing a failure to roll away by Ireland. He then put Gatland’s side 16-10 ahead with another successful shot from the tee with nine minutes left.
Ireland, bolstered by their replacements in some departments, battled hard in the closing minutes, forcing their way back to within metres and eventually being held up over the tryline as Cronin went agonisingly close to allowing them to grab a win.
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