Sunday Round Up

Just the three matches of note from Europe this Sunday, with the Premiership action overshadowed by Ireland vs Wales in the 6 nations. Where better to start our round up then with a look back over that pulsating match from Dublin.

Ireland 16-16 Wales

Ireland welcomed Wales to a rainy Dublin with the surprise tag of underdogs, having lost the likes of Sean O’Brien and Rob Kearney to injury in the run up to the game. The home side beat Wales to the punch in the game’s opening stanza, showing real hunger and aggression to race to a 13 point lead. A sniping effort from Conor Murray and two Jonny sexton penalties putting Ireland in a dominant position. The momentum of the half swung on one Jerome Garces decision, penalising Earls for a tip tackle on Liam Williams. This gave Dan Biggar a chance to finally get points on the board for Wales, and he duly obliged to make the score 13-3. With Wales now in the game, a series of dominant scrums on the Irish 5 eventually led to a Faletau run from the base, showing real strength and skill to score under the attention of three Irish tacklers. That left the score 13-13 at the break, with Wales probably the happier of the two sides having been under real pressure for large periods of the half.

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The second half was a much tighter affair, with far fewer line breaks and defences on top. Wales enjoyed a sustained period of pressure in the Ireland 22 to begin the half, and having gone through 20+ phases were finally rewarded with a penalty. Rhys Priestland, on for the injured Dan Biggar, nailed the tricky effort to edge the visitors ahead with 10 minutes remaining. In such a tight half, Ireland’s Jonny Sexton came up with a rare moment of magic, making a break off a trademark wrap-around play to storm towards the Wales 22. He found Trimble on the wing with a fantastic pass, only for the Ulsterman to be hauled into touch in the 22 by the scrambling Welsh defence. Moments later, an offside penalty gave Sexton the opportunity to level the scores, and despite looking groggy from an earlier tackle on Jamie Roberts, he slotted the tricky chance. That was to be the last score of a pulsating match, with a draw probably a fair result on the day.

Exeter 11-14 Saracens

With the Six Nations starting in earnest this weekend, Exeter's match with Sarries could easily have flown under the radar. But this was still a match of great importance in the Aviva Premiership, with first taking on second. Exeter were slight favourites at kick off, and they justified the tag early on by racing into an 11 point lead. James Short the man to thank as he picked off a loose Hodgson pass to run the length of the field and score. Sarries grabbed a lifeline on the stoke of half time however, Samu Vunisa barging over after a well-executed line out maul.

Conditions in the second half worsened considerably, which appeared to stunt Exeters attacking ambition. Saracens bigger pack began to dominate, eventually grinding out two kickable penalties for Charlie Hodgson to score. Exeter, for all their ambition in the first half, just couldn’t keep possession, and were held scoreless in the second half to go down 11-14 at full time. Saracens now in pole position to end the league in first place.