Andy Farrell heaped praise on “tremendous” Wales after Ireland kept alive their slim hopes of reclaiming the Guinness Six Nations title by battling to a 27-17 bonus-point win in Dublin.
Following a ruthless demolition of England in round three, Farrell’s side were prevented from producing another statement display by dogged opposition chasing a first championship success since 2023.
Ireland led just 12-10 at half-time after Wales prop Rhys Carre claimed a fine solo score in response to tries from Jacob Stockdale and Jack Crowley.
Ireland come out on top after a huge battle in Dublin!#GuinnessM6N #Since1883 pic.twitter.com/qybU3F2PiM
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 6, 2026
Jack Conan and Jamie Osborne crossed in the second period, either side of a finish from Welsh flanker James Botham, as the hosts scraped home to set up a Triple Crown showdown with Scotland next weekend.
Ireland head coach Farrell said: “I actually thought Wales did fantastically well to stay in the game.
“They played tough, they hung on in there and kept it close on the scoreboard. I thought they were tremendous tonight.
“It was a proper Test match and for us to come away with a bonus-point win, we’d certainly take that with how the game unfolded because it was a different game to the game we played last time around.
“We weren’t playing rugby on the front foot because of how well they defended. I thought they were excellent in contact and at set-piece and they can be really proud of their performance.”
Although Ireland remain in contention for championship glory, table-topping France will retain the title with a round to spare by beating Scotland with a bonus point at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Wales, meanwhile, will bid to avoid the wooden spoon for the third successive Six Nations when they host Italy on the final weekend after they slipped to a 15th consecutive championship defeat, despite a creditable display at the Aviva Stadium.
“I thought we came up against a rock-solid defence who kept knocking us back and we should have been just a little bit more patient at times and I thought we’d get our reward from that,” said Farrell.
“But most of the credit of how that Test match unfolded has to go to Wales because I thought they were outstanding in the way they went about the fight.
“It was a dogged Test match and that’s how these type of Test matches should be.”
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