Wales vs Ireland Review – Six Nations 2026
Ireland 27 – 17 Wales
Following Ireland’s 21-42 sweep against England, along with Wales’ historic poor performances in Dublin, this could’ve been a lot uglier than a 10 point deficit. A one score difference was well earned, however; Wales’ defence was far improved compared to previous weeks, and they made Ireland’s world class players fight for every score. An easy way to describe Walaes’ performance was annoying; for the opposition, thankfully. Where England struggled to handle Ireland’s varied attacking threats, Wales found a lot more answers, and forced the hosts to give it their all across the field.
Ultimately though, the Irish had more opportunities to take advantage of; they got more points from Wales’ 22, held 57% of the possession, and did an equally effective job of countering Wales’ attack plan. Players like McCloskey and Baloucoune were quieter than in previous weeks, but their forward pack was more than enough to give them the edge in go-forward. A recurring pattern; Wales were the less clinical and well-drilled team, and therefore they simply got less out of their limited opportunities.
Still an improvement over the Scotland performance overall, if only slightly. A lesser team would;ve collapsed to a lot more than 27 points conceded with how much Ireland threw at them. How much they can improve that showing against Italy is to be seen, but a win at home to break the losing streak is entirely on the table.
Player Ratings:
1: Rhys Carré – 9
Ellis Genge-esque. Carré’s work with ball-in-hand was among the best on the field, as he kept pushing Ireland’s defence backwards and came close to scoring multiple times. But when he finally broke through, he proved why he;s a player who can;t be half-checked with a brilliant linebreak. A strong contender for the team of the tournament at this rate.
2: Dewi Lake – 8
Less noticeable than Carré, at least on attack; 4 dominant tackles is a hard number to ignore. Strong at the setpiece, Lake looks back to his best after a long slump in form, though Wales’ maul couldn’t quite get going to give him a scoring opportunity.
3: Tomas Francis – 6
Tom O’Toole is normally a tighthead prop and Wales’ pack was over 50 kg heavier than Ireland’s. Didn’t stop him from folding Francis in record time at the first scrum. Was a lot more stable for the rest of the game, and both side’s setpieces were equally matched for the most part.
4: Dafydd Jenkins – 8
About as good as last week; 27 tackles and a turnover speaks to his contributions around the park. A deliberate knock on caused issues at one point, but only came from his desire to involve himself in every effort made by his side.
5: Ben Carter – 7
Mostly solid; outread by Jack Crowley for the latter’s try, but with 19 tackles made, 1 missed is less concerning. Couldn’t match his teammates efforts otherwise before being replaced, but did well with what he was given.
6: Alex Mann – 9
32 tackles made, 2 dominant, a turnover and a try-saving snatch in Wales’ 22. Mann went above and beyond in every phase of play, including a near-try towards the end. He’s been a consistent performer since coming back into the Wales side after the Japan tour, but this was comfortably his best game yet.
7: James Botham – 8
Nice to see the Cardiff backrowers in their more comfortable positions; Botham didn’t win as many turnovers as he may have wanted, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Tireless on defence, and almost scored out wide before claiming a score later on, Botham constantly frustrated Ireland’s attack and forced them to go around him rather than through.
8: Aaron Wainwright – 7
Having suffered an injury prior to the match, Waino’s influence was always going to be slightly more limited. 5 carries looks underwhelming, but with what he was able to contribute, he forced Ireland’s hand. A solid 16-1 defensive showing too, not far behind consistent tackle-machine Carter. Also, somehow he topped meters carried for Wales? In 44 minutes? What?
9: Tomos Williams – 5
Not just for the yellow card, although it certainly didn’t help Wales’ last 10 minutes being without a scrum-half. While he kept the attack flowing, Williams couldn’t really create much after Carré’s try, and his kicking wasn’t much help either. Got targeted a lot on defence and didn’t handle it well.
10: Dan Edwards – 6
Got targeted a lot on defence and didn;t handle it well. Saving a try with some level-headed playmaking gives him an extra point, though with Costelow’s performance last week, the drop-off was felt. A good player, and some of his kicks helped relieve pressure, but others went more astray.
11: Josh Adams – 4
Pretty quiet. When given the ball out wide, didn’t put Ireland under too much pressure and looked indecisive in parts. Missed a pass to Botham which kind of summed up his night.
12: Joe Hawkins – 6
Got targeted a lot on defence and… was ok? 15 tackles made, but tied with Tomos for most missed with 4. Still, his kicking game was one of the more consistent on his team, and 10 carries is actually one of the higher numbers among Wales’ ranks. Context is relevant; McCloskey has been one of the tournament’s best players, and Hawkins more than held his own.
13: Eddie James – 7
Also quieter than usual, but really frustrated Ireland out wide. Similar workrate to Hawkins with 10 carries and 15 tackles, but missed none. Ireland’s midfield defence is very strong, though, so James could only do so much to dent it.
14: Ellis Mee – 6
Fine? Stockdale comfortably had the edge under the high ball, but Mee made a good account of himself when pressured on defence. Didn’t see too much ball, though, as the play was more focused on Adams’ side.
15: Louis Rees-Zammit – 6
Doesn’t feel like a world-class player at the moment. Deserves credit for his 50:22 and some solid carries, along with a reasonable defensive effort at times, but was quiet for most of the second half.
BENCH
16: Ryan Elias – 7
Played his part in Wales’ consistent setpiece, though their maul got stopped pretty quickly. Good carries.
17: Nicky Smith – 8
Crushed Furlong in the scrum, but didn’t have the same defensive impact as last week.
18: Archie Griffin – 7
Much better scrum performance than last week, which isn’t saying much, but looked a lot closer to his usual form overall.
19: Adam Beard – N/A
Being given a second chance to earn a starting spot, Beard made 3 carries and 1 tackle in 24 minutes. Meh.
20: Olly Cracknell – 7
Isn’t Wainwright, but put in a similar effort with an insane 15 carries in 36 minutes. That’s as many as MotM Conan made in the entire game. Less notable on defence compared to Botham and Mann, but contributed well overall.
21: Kieran Hardy – N/A
Technically, Tomos didn’t play 80 minutes thanks to the yellow card, so not much reason to replace him.
22: Jarrod Evans – N/A
Slightly more surprising unused replacement, though Hawkins did well. No last minute kicks this time.
23: Louie Hennessey – 6
Got his first cap, and seemed to make more impact than Mee somehow. Threw himself into everything available, though to little result.
My Team vs Italy
- Rhys Carré
- Dewi Lake
- Tomas Francis
- Dafydd Jenkins
- Ben Carter
- Alex Mann
- James Botham
- Aaron Wainwright
- Tomos Williams
- Sam Costelow
- Mason Grady
- Joe Hawkins
- Eddie James
- Tom Rogers
- Louis Rees-Zammit
BENCH
- Ryan Elias
- Nicky Smith
- Kieron Assiratti
- Freddie Thomas
- Josh Macleod
- Kieran Hardy
- Jarrod Evans
- Blair Murray
Once again, not many changes. Assiratti should be back to full fitness by now, and while Griffin played well, Assiratti’s performances in the Autumn deserve to be built upon. Management is hopeful that Costelow will be fit for the Italy game, in which case he comes back too. As for the bench, Freddie Thomas has been relatively underutilised so far this campaign, and should take the chance to prove what he brings to the squad. Josh Macleod has both the versatility and experience to act as a useful bench replacement; Cracknell and Woodman are larger and stronger, but against Italy, breakdown control will be needed to compete with their dual opensides and slow down their ball. If Wainwright isn’t fit, however, Cracknell will need to come in.
The back three is more interesting, as none of them have really clicked so far this tournament. Josh Adams has 2 tries, but these have mostly come from finishing phase plays rather than dominant gameplay. Louis Rees-Zammit is statistically impressive, but his performances so far have left a lot to be desired. He keeps his space though, as the other fullback options are riskier. Meanwhile, Tom Rogers hasn’t had a minute of rugby all campaign, and Mason Grady looked strong off the bench at the start, so they take Josh Adams and Ellis Mee’s places in the XV. Blair Murray adds more pace and should up the tempo coming off the bench.
Italy have had an excellent campaign so far, but with Wales’ own improvements, a larger pack, and the homefield advantage, a victory is certainly achievable.
Glawio Rugby 