Whichever angle this Ireland team are viewed from they are starting to look very impressive. And, boy, do they do angles. The sheer number by which Irish runners came at Wales had the latter’s defence stressed throughout. Four tries ensued in what sounds a comfortable 29-7 win but really the cold stats hardly do justice to the nature of this dismantling.
That is nine wins in a row now for Ireland since they underwhelmed in their opening two fixtures of the championship this time a year ago. When the world rankings are refreshed on Monday, they will leapfrog England into third to become the highest placed of the Six Nations. But they remain second favourites to France (world No 5), who will host them in Paris on Saturday.
The stage is set for the next Big Match, beyond which none of the contestants will be looking, but the rest of us can speculate to our hearts’ content. Needless to say, if Ireland play like this in Paris there is every chance they can put the championship to bed, with a home fixture against Italy to come in round three.
All Ireland’s usual suspects strutted their stuff at the weekend but, as gratifying as any of the performances by Josh van der Flier, the two props, Garry Ringrose and the like was that of the new boy on the wing. Mack Hansen was making his debut and took his cue almost immediately, the key contributor in the build-up to Ireland’s first try in the third minute.
His award of man of the match might have gone to any number of players but it clinched a performance that would qualify as fairytale, Hansen having arrived from his native Australia only a few months ago to play for Connacht. “I’m still in shock about everything,” he said, “and I’m just trying to take it all in.”
People still get very touchy about the nationality question, which is futile in this multicultural, migratory world in which we live. Hansen’s mum is Irish, so he qualifies. He has extended family in Cork.
“To play for such a great rugby nation was definitely an aspiration of mine,” he said. “I consider this place home now, and I think I will for a long time. So to get my first cap for Ireland is something I’ll remember for ever.”
His Connacht teammate Bundee Aki got the first try. Andrew Conway (twice) and Ringrose then scored in the third quarter to register the bonus point and a 29-0 lead on the hour, which was in no way flattering to the Irish. Wales did moderately well to restrict them to just that, particularly in the first quarter, when the score was 10-0, but that is faint praise indeed. Just about the only plus for them was the performance of Taine Basham. He was top of Wales’s counts for carries, metres and tackles.
He was their top scorer, too. His intercept try five minutes from the end certainly did flatter Wales, if not Basham himself. Next up for them are a buoyant Scotland in Cardiff. The champions did not want to find themselves firefighting as early as this.
