Ireland has their second successive win of the 2026 Six Nations. After Andy Farrell's men survived a brief scare from a resurgent Welsh side, Ireland were forced to work hard and painfully in order to scrape out tonight's bonus point victory, with multiple debutants involved.

Ireland grabbed three tries, as Ulster's Jacob Stockdale and Jack Crowley kept the game tight, before Leinster backrow Jack Conan bagged a score to give Ireland some breathing room. With a crucial bonus point try from Jamie Osborne, Ireland managed to pull clear of Wales to see the result out.

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Ireland held on for a hard-fought 27-17 win over Wales, with the Triple Crown still firmly in the sights of Andy Farrell's side.

With the dust settled under the lights of the Aviva Stadium, the match kicked off following a stirring rendition of 'Fields of Athenry'. This Celtic clash was fueled by passion, and both sides ran out with full heads of steam.

However, Ireland started hotter and were over for the opening score after just five minutes. In-form centre Stuart McCloskey found Jacob Stockdale on a hard line, to send his Ulster teammate across the line from close range. Ireland back row Jack Conan then had his try cancelled out just six minutes later, as Tom O'Toole knocked the ball on in the preceding breakdown.

Jack Crowley was offside at a 15-minute breakdown, with his opposite man, Dan Edwards, happy to slot Wales' first three points of the match. The Ireland fly-half responded with a well-taken try, as Crowley sold Ellis Mee with the dummy to skip across the try-line moments before the break. Wales retaliated in the final play of the first half, as Rhys Carre fended off Rob Baloucoune to explode into the backfield for a memorable score from the prop.

Jack Conan then got his name on the score-sheet the second time of asking. The Leinster bruiser battled his way across the white-wash from close range just four minutes after the restart. Wales hit back just after the hour, as back row James Botham took the rewards from a series of scrum penalties and sustained pressure. Edwards then nailed the conversion to make it a two-point game at 19-17.

Momentum swung again, as Jamison Gibson-Park let a downfield surge. The ball was recycled, and Jacob Stockdale found Jamie Osborne with a neat 'over-the-top' offload, for a pivotal second-half score. Crowley would miss the following conversion, yet the Munster man did add a further penalty to send Ireland home for the win.

TRIES: 4 (Stockdale 5', Crowley 37', Conan 44' Osborne 68')

CONVERSIONS: (Crowley 7' 44')

PENALTIES: 1 (Crowley 73')

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 0

RED CARDS: 0

STARTING XV: 15. Jamie Osborne 14.Robert Balocoune 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Stuart McCloskey 11. Jacob Stockdale 10. Jack Crowley 9. Jameson Gibson-Park 1. Tom O'Toole 2. Ronan Kelleher 3. Tadgh Furlong 4. James Ryan 5. Tadgh Beirne 6. Jack Conan 7. Nick Timoney 8. Caelan Doris

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Tom Stewart 17. Michael Milne 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Joe McCarthy 20. Josh Van Der Flier 21. Nathan Doak 22. Tom Farrell 23. Ciaran Frawley

TRIES: 2 (Carre 40', Botham 62')

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Edwards 40' 63'

PENALTIES: 1 (Edwards 16')

DROP GOALS: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Williams 69')

RED CARDS: 0

STARTING XV: 15. Louis Rees-Zammit 14. Ellis Mee 13.Eddie James 12. Joe Hawkins 11. Josh Adams 10. Dan Edwards 9. Tomos Williams 1. Rhys Carre 2. Dewi Lake 3. Tomas Francis 4. Daffyd Jenkins 5. Ben Carter 6. Alex Mann 7. James Botham 8. Aaron Wainwright

REPLACEMENTS: 16. Ryan Elias, 17. Nicky Smith, 18. Archie Griffin, 19. Adam Beard, 20. Olly Cracknell, 21. Kieran Hardy, 22. Jarrod Evans, 23. Louie Hennessey

Making his first Six Nations start for Ireland, Ulster's Nick Timoney started the match as he meant to go on. Making the first high-impact tackle of the game. Getting into the game early, the Ulster backrower carried the ball well. However, his first major impact on the game came in the 20th minute. With Wales attacking Ireland's 22, the Ulster star held Wales prop Rhys Carre up over the line, saving a certain try.

Involved in almost everything Ireland did positively without the ball in the opening half, Timoney looked like a test-caliber international on his first start for Ireland. Dealing with a Welsh side who dominated carrying across the gainline, Ireland's back row of Jack Conan, Caelan Doris, and Timoney played a crucial role in repelling the Wales threat. The Irish backrow trio also played a vital role in the 22, with Jack Conan crashing over on two separate occasions, being denied both times.

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While his Ulster teammate thrived, Robert Balocoune, who has been one of the most in-form players of the tournament, struggled significantly. With loose hands plaguing Ireland's game in the first half, Balocoune's wayward kicks and poor hands led to multiple missed opportunities. Additionally, after holding Steve Tandy's side out for 40 minutes, a fatal missed tackle from the Ulster winger resulted in Rhys Carre carving through the Irish defense and over the try line.

After allowing England to dominate the scrum at Twickenham, with a 100% scrum success rate from their own put-in, Ireland's scrum looked much improved against Wales. Earning the opening scrum penalty of the game, Andy Farrell's side's victory at the set piece led directly to Jacob Stockdale's opening try. This came after Farrell changed 2/3's of his forward pack, with Tom O'Toole and Ronan Kelleher coming in for Jeremy Loughman and Dan Sheehan.

With the Ulster prop and Leinster replacement hooker coming in, Ireland dominated the scrum, winning 100% on their own put-in across the opening 45 minutes. Additionally, their set play from the scrum once again resulted in Ireland's third try of the game, with Jack Conan crashing over not to be denied after having a try disallowed earlier. Continuing their dominance going into the second half, Ireland won another scrum penalty to open the half courtesy of O'Toole.

Ireland's scrum platform was not the only one that allowed them to deal with a Wales side that would not shy from a challenge. With a solid platform in the 22, Ireland's lineout also functioned to perfection when attacking in the 22, with the second try of the game coming off the back of a perfect lineout. Ireland did not lose its first set piece until the 57th minute, conceding a free kick off the back of the scrum. However, this led to old issues flaring, conceding a second scrum penalty in their own 22.

Returning to the Ireland 23 for the first time after his short exile following the France defeat, Jacob Stockdale looked back to his clinical best as he opened the scoring. Carrying the ball across the gainline on numerous occasions, the Ulster winger appeared at his physical best after his injury struggles in the past. Stockdale previously suffered from a season-ending ankle injury in the 2021-22 season, as well as a shoulder injury in the Summer that sidelined him from Ireland duty.

Being utterly torn apart by France's ruthless kicking game in the Six Nations opener, the Ulster winger appeared to thrive tonight, where he struggled two games earlier. After catching his first contested ball of the game near the end of the first half, Stockdale would nullify any threat that Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams could pose with his kicking.

While Stockedale's impact on the game was nullified in the second half due to Wales's dominance across the final 20 minutes of the game, the Ulster winger made zero critical mistakes. And in the moments that mattered, the Ulster winger delivered a beautiful try assist to set up Jamie Osborne. Playing a key role in pulling Ireland free of a scare, Stockdale's performance was an overall improvement over his performance against France. Ireland fans can potentially expect Farrell to call upon Stockdale for Ireland's clash against Scotland next weekend.

Making his Ireland debut off the bench, Nathan Doak was called upon with Jameson Gibson-Park suffering an injury. With Wales appearing the more dominant of both sides at that point in time, the Ulster scrum-half was forced to deliver under the highest amount of pressure. Having to carry the creative workload of Gibson-Park, who made his 50th appearance tonight, Doak had no issue with the pace of the game in his brief first cameo, before Gibson-Park's return in the 32nd minute.

With such a tight affair between both sides, Doak was not called upon again until the last few minutes of the game, with Gibson-Park seeing the game out. However, his brief cameo, which steered the ship for Ireland, will earn him some significant trust with head coach Andy Farrell, as he potentially competes with Munster's Craig Casey for a spot in Ireland's final Six Nations game against Scotland.

After appearing to have the Number 10. The shirt locked down for Ireland, Jack Crowley was nullified by a physically dominant Welsh side last night. With most of the opening passages of play utilising Jameson Gibson-Park as the primary playmaker from 9, Crowley struggled to get his hands on the ball. Additionally, after attempting to carry the ball out from his own 22, the Irish 10 was forced back, leading to a turnover two phases later. This led directly to Wales almost crashing over the line.

However, with Gibson-Park operating as Ireland's primary playmaker, instead of shying away from the challenge, Crowley adapted to his role. Appearing on the wing and getting involved with Ireland's backfield game, it was Crowley's adaptability that led to Ireland's second try. The Ireland fly-half drifting out to the wing resulted in him crashing over the line, courtesy of an assist from Gibson-Park.

Overall, Crowley's performance at 10 was enough to see Ireland over the line, with some moments of individual brilliance. While he may not face any competition for his 10 shirt over the next few weeks, the Ireland fly-half did not light the world on fire with his performance against Wales tonight.

Going into tonight's game, Ireland had won their last four Guinness Men’s Six Nations matches against Wales. However, before tonight's game, they had never won five consecutive games against Wales in any iteration of the Championship. Meanwhile, Wales continued to make negative history after having lost their previous 14 consecutive matches in the tournament.