Words: Tom Kiernan-Wilson, Pic: Kate Pronger
Wales produced a disciplined and determined performance to secure a 24-6 victory over Ireland to win the inaugural Celtic Cup, giving the men’s side their first trophy in 11 years.
Coming off the back of a 38-0 win over Scotland in Hawick, and aware Ireland had toppled the Scottish 44-12 the week before, Wales knew that at least a draw would secure them silverware on points difference. However, Wales had no interest in a close contest at The Wern.
The Welsh started brightly, dominating territory and immediately putting Ireland under pressure. Their early intensity forced a knock-on from Ireland’s opening carry, although the visitors briefly threatened when Baily Tait intercepted before a promising break down the left was ruled out for a forward pass to Dan Lynch.
Wales made their territorial advantage count on nine minutes. A penalty for holding down gave them an opportunity to attack, and Oli Garmston was on hand to take an offload close to the line and crash over in the right corner. Charlie Newton added the conversion to give Wales a 6-0 lead.
Ireland continued to struggle with their discipline, and another penalty, followed by a six-again decision, kept Wales firmly on the front foot. The pressure eventually told four minutes later when Tokoaitua Owen produced a clever dummy before spinning through the Irish defence to score. Newton was unable to add the extras, but Wales had established a 10-0 advantage.
The remainder of the first half was a scrappier affair, with both sides struggling to build sustained attacking pressure. Matty Fozard provided one of the highlights with a thunderous tackle, while Will Jones later broke down the wing to give Wales another opportunity. Dan Coop intercepted for Ireland shortly afterwards, but rushed handling prevented the visitors from making the most of their chance.
Wales continued to benefit from Irish indiscipline and, following successive penalties, extended their lead on 31 minutes. Jackson Connor battled his way over despite the best efforts of the Irish defence, with Newton converting to make it 16-0.
Ireland enjoyed a spell of pressure before the interval but could not find a way through. Wales almost added a fourth try when Taine Woodford broke a tackle, only for his attempted pass to Lewis Ingram to go into touch.
Wales continued to threaten after the restart, with Connor held up following a strong Sam Grice carry, before Jones was unable to finish an acrobatic effort in the corner.
Ireland finally got themselves on the scoreboard on 50 minutes. A wayward pass fell kindly for Coop, who showed good strength to fend off the Welsh defenders and cross for a try. James Farrar converted to reduce the deficit to 16-6.
The second half continued to be an untidy contest, with neither side able to establish a sustained attacking threat. However, Wales found another gear on 64 minutes when Woodford broke through the Irish defence once again. His offload found Ingram, who initially stumbled but recovered brilliantly to gather the ball and score in the right corner. Newton produced an excellent conversion from out wide to extend the Welsh advantage to 22-6.
Newton added a further two points from a penalty on 70 minutes after Ireland were penalised for a high shot, giving Wales some breathing space in the closing stages.
Ireland pushed hard for a late consolation score, but Wales stood firm defensively and capitalised on some poor handling from the visitors to see out an impressive 24-6 victory.
Oli Garmston was named Wales’ player of the match.
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WALES ‘A’ 56
T: George Birch 2 (3 mins, 52 mins), Mason Philips 3 (20, 72, 75), Fin Walker (29), Wil Mathers (32), Jacob Purcell (40), Evan Williams (44), Issac Wheatley 2 (47, 79)
G: Mason Philips 6 (from 7)
SOUTH OF ENGLAND 10
T: Ben Telfer (14), Harry Kaufman (64)
G: Luke Drummond 1 (from 2)
Sin-Bin: Harry Kaufman (37 – interference at the play the ball), Dylan Stone (71 – holding down)
Report: Matt Aniss, Pic: Kate Pronger
A dominant first-half performance set Wales ‘A’ on the path to a dominant 56-10 victory over South of England at Merthyr RFC.
Wales second-string surged into a 28-4 lead at half-time thanks to tries from George Birch, Mason Philips, Fin Walker, Wil Mathers and Jacob Purcell, with Philips adding four conversions. The South of England, starved of possession for much of the half, could only manage an unconverted Ben Telfer try in response, with Harry Kaufman’s 37th-minute sin-bin for holding down at the play-the-ball adding to their woes.
Wales ‘A’ continued to dominate in the second half, adding six more tries to their tally. Evan Williams, Issac Wheatley and a second of the afternoon from George Birch put the game beyond the South of England’s. While Harry Kaufman surged over to grab a consolation, there was worse to come in the closing stages for the visitors.
Mason Philips grabbed two tries in three minutes late on to complete a deserved hat-trick, before Issac Wheatley rubbed salt into South of England’s wounds by somehow touching down a long, speculative kick despite the presence of two English defenders.
Player of the Match: Fin Walker (Wales ‘A’ – Hooker)
