The score might make it seem relatively comfortable, but from the perspective of this Welsh fan – particularly one watching it in O’Neill’s Irish pub with a pre-9am pint in one hand and tea in the other – though for large parts this was anything but.
Wales became the fourth team in World Cup history to reach the semi-finals despite not winning their pool – France would become the fifth two hours later – in a display that makes hyperbole almost impossible.
A third-minute try gave Wales the start they craved, but for most of the rest of the first half it was Wales who were on the back foot. Ireland were almost camped in the Welsh half, but the Shaun Edwards-inspired defence consistently repelled the green-shirted endeavours.
Much has been made of the fitness of the Welsh squad following a gruelling training camp coach Warren Gatland inflicted on them over the summer. And that physical strength was there for all to see in Wellington today. Even little Shane Williams, occasionally averse to tackling, brilliantly prevented a touchdown for Sean O’Brien.
Wales defended their line with an intensity and an urgency that restricted Ireland to just three first-half points, despite the latter’s near-constant pressure. Wales were helped by bizarre tactical choices after Ireland opted to kick for touch from three kickable penalties, apparently negating the selection of Ronan O’Gara over the more creative Jonathan Sexton.
Wales took a 10-3 lead into the break, Leigh Halfpenny restoring his side’s seven-point advantage by slotting a long-range penalty. Apart from the first few minutes, Ireland had dominated the first 40-minute. They were made to pay for their failure to convert their pressure into points, even if that was as much due to Welsh pluck as Irish wastefulness.
The second half was almost an exact reversal of the first period. Ireland finally crossed the whitewash in the early stages. Keith Earls slid over in the corner, and O’Gara brought the scores level with a fine touchline conversion.
At that stage I was particularly worried. The momentum appeared to be with Ireland – and those wearing green at O’Neill’s were jubilant. For the first time, Fields of Athenry spilled out into the still-gloomy Trinity Street. Wales fans were tense; an English supporter looked ecstatic (that feeling was well and truly wiped out within an hour or two).
But with a resilience that Wales seem to have adopted for the purposes of this tournament, Sam Warburton’s men refused to lie down. Within five minutes they had their reward. Mike Phillips spotted the smallest of blindside opportunities, and used power and incredible agility to first brush off the defenders before leaping into the corner in order to avoid the touchline, echoing Brian O’Driscoll’s score against Australia in the 2003 World Cup.
By this stage, Wales fans were back on top in the battle of Trinity Street as their team’s superior fitness began to tell. With just over fifteen minutes remaining, centre Jonathan Davies burst through an attempted tackle by prop Cian Healy, and had the strength to power his way over for a try which Rhys Priestland converted.
Priestland was generally assured, but his kicking from hand was a bit shaky at times. His opposite number O’Gara, however, had something of a mixed day by his usually high standards. Twice in the first half the Munsterman kicked the ball dead, costing his side both field position and possession.
Questions must surround the tactics Ireland adopted regarding the priorities from penalties, and with O’Gara not on top form when kicking from hand either, the decision to start him was certainly dubious. He was replaced after 55 minutes, to the general relief of the green majority in O’Neill’s.
Even a 12-point lead barely freed me of my nerves and I didn’t feel comfortable until the 79th minute. But that probably says more about paranoia on my part than the existence of a true Irish threat.
They did come close to the Welsh line, but by the end there seemed to be a total dearth of ideas or creativity. The Irish team had no idea how to breach the stubborn Welsh defence, and their team, much older than Gatland’s young upstarts, were far more tired.
Welsh squad discipline and fitness has been in evidence throughout the tournament, but no more than today. Ireland made 93 tackles and missed fourteen for a success rate of 87 percent. But in an indication both of Ireland’s constant first-half pressure and the Welsh strength and determination, Wales made 141 tackles and missed only eleven for a success rate of 93 percent; Luke Charteris made an incredible sixteen before he was forced to go off at half-time with – perhaps unsurprisingly – a shoulder injury.
Yet despite that, Wales made only one other replacement – Hook for Priestland with three minutes remaining – compared with Ireland’s five, an indication of the deep energy levels Gatland’s starting XV demonstrably have.
This was a momentous occasion for Wales, and I am relishing seeing my country in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in my life. The Irish contingent looked glum; their team still has never reached the last four. Today will be incredible; tomorrow the nerves will kick in before the encounter with Les Bleus next Saturday.
The only task for me this week is to find a French bar in Cardiff.
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