Ireland claim maximum to keep Six Nations title dream alive but improved Wales make them sweat

Ireland made it three wins from four in the 2026 Six Nations but were made to work for their 27-17 bonus-point victory over Wales at the Aviva Stadium on Friday.

Tries from Jacob Stockdale, Jack Crowley, Jack Conan and Jamie Osborne saw Andy Farrell’s side to the five points, with Crowley landing two conversions and a penalty.

A determined and improved Wales crossed through Rhys Carre and James Botham while Dan Edwards converted both scores and added a penalty of his own in Dublin.

The result puts Ireland just a point behind France, who take on Scotland tomorrow, while Wales remain rooted to bottom spot but will take plenty from this performance.

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It was a first half full of commitment and entertainment as Ireland went in with their noses in front at 12-10, this after an epic late try from Carre silenced the Irish fans.

Ireland had taken an early lead after six minutes when sustained pressure saw Stuart McCloskey make good ground on two occasions before the centre put Stockdale over.

That 7-0 buffer looked to have been doubled five minutes later, but a knock-on denied Conan a crossing from close range, which handed the visitors a welcome reprieve.

In fact, Wales would proceed to reduce the arrears on 17 minutes after Ireland were caught offside, Edwards landing a simple penalty goal as they smartly opted for points.

That gave the visitors confidence, and they enjoyed a period of possession thereafter with in-form front-rower Carre going close to adding to his tally, but he was held up.

However, it was Ireland who scored next as, after launching another spell of dominance, the ball came left to Crowley, who dummied and got outside Ben Carter for a try.

That 12-3 lead felt fairly handy as half-time loomed, but the moment of the first period came in the final knockings when Carre raced over for a wonderful solo score. The Welsh players and travelling fans were jubilant and rightly so as the free-scoring prop pulled Ireland back within touching distance for his hungry team-mates at the perfect time.

But Ireland responded in ideal fashion early in the second half when Conan crashed over from close range in similar fashion to how he was denied in the opening stanza.

At 19-10 up, Ireland had themselves a two-score cushion, but it was clear as the hour mark passed that Wales were not going to roll over like they did in early February. In fact, they had the Irish rattled, notably Tadhg Furlong, who was subsequently subbed by Farrell on 60 minutes before a confident Wales looked to rumble over from close range.

That they did three minutes later when Botham got his reward for a solid showing by dotting down close to the uprights, and with Edwards’ extras, it was a 19-17 scoreline.

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But Ireland responded admirably and hit back soon after as Osborne scored the bonus-point try that was compounded for Wales by Tomos Williams being shown yellow.

Still, though a tireless Wales outfit had hope and plenty of it with the scores at 24-17 and eight minutes remaining, as they set about making territory count, albeit in vain.

Indeed, Ireland would see out a thrilling Test with a 10-point cushion after Crowley’s late penalty gave the hosts some breathing space, with mission accomplished in terms of table points. However, the hosts will be the first to credit Wales for how they made them sweat for every battle, as while they might have lost, there were positives galore.

The teams

Ireland: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Jack Conan, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 James Ryan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Tom O’Toole
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Michael Milne, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Tom Farrell, 23 Ciaran Frawley

Wales: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 James Botham, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Rhys Carre
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Louie Hennessey

Date: Friday, March 6
Kick-off: 20:10 GMT
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Damian Schneider (UAR)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)

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