Wales peg Ireland back to draw opener

“We have got three home games now and we have to make all those must win matches”.

And with the World Cup out of the way and attention now turning to next year’s Lions tour of New Zealand, Joe Schmidt has firmed up from outsider to contender after his makeshift team performed well above expectation, jumping into an early lead and then defending fiercely when Wales finally warmed up and came back at them.

Wales enjoyed plenty of possession and chances inside enemy territory yet they trailed 13-0 after half an hour against an Irish side who are notoriously hard to chase down.

But momentum shifted when Keith Earls was called for illegally lifting Liam Williams, who clattered to the turf and fumbled the ball for what would have been an Irish turnover.

Faletau struggled to put into words the exact emotions that he felt following a game in which the players were battered more by each other than the anticipated wind. Jamie Roberts put in more than 16 tackles at the heart of the Welsh defence and the scrum was rock solid.

None of Ireland’s provinces have qualified for the European Champions Cup quarter-finals, but Best argued that provincial form is no barometer for Test success.

“We spent a lot of time together not so long ago, and we have a lot of experience”.

“We have half a day less to recover now to compete with France and it is a monumental task”, he added of their next fixture.

After another sustained period of pressure in the Welsh 22 the visitors were caught offside and Sexton doubled Ireland’s advantage with his second penalty on 14 minutes. “When it comes to learning plays and getting back up to speed, that’s pretty easily done, and all that fitness work we did hopefully we can hold onto throughout the tournament”.

It took nearly half an hour for Wales’s replacement flyhalf to edge them ahead, before Sexton replied with a long-range effort that sneaked over to share the points.

And Sexton duly doubled Ireland’s lead to 6-0.

‘And the threats that they pose with Justin Tipuric, Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate when he came on, all these guys, we didn’t really give them a look-in.

It is perfectly understandable for the players to feel deflated when they have sacrificed so much for their team, but it should not be all doom and gloom for either side.

A draw is not a good result for anyone.

“It’s disappointing we let Wales back into it”, Ireland captain Rory Best said in a pitchside interview.

Wales’ dominance at the scrum was the cornerstone of their fightback, but Ireland looked more creative behind and with Stander and Jamie Heaslip outstanding in the back row, met Wales’ predominantly physical challenge head-on.

Next Saturday, Ireland travel to Paris to play France, before Wales host Scotland at the Millennium Stadium.

Ireland had another line-break when Sexton carved open the Welsh midfield and passed wide for Andrew Trimble, who had a fine game on his return, but Tom James did well to tackle the big Ulsterman into touch.

“A draw is not a good result for anyone”.

Despite seeing their Grand Slam and Triple Crown hopes disappear following a first draw between the countries since 1991, both teams showed enough quality to suggest they will be serious Six Nations title contenders this season.