Ireland improve to beat Wales in 6 Nations

Ireland made it 2 wins from 2 in the 6 Nations as they put on a much-improved performance in a 24-14 bonus point victory over Wales at the Aviva Stadium.

Andy Farrell's side began with much more purpose and energy than they had shown in last week's tense win over Scotland, making several visits to the Welsh 22 early on. Ulster's Jacob Stockdale made a few line breaks, and the direct running of Robbie Henshaw proved to be a constant threat. It took until the 19th minute for the strained Welsh defence to finally crack.

The Irish forwards ground out several phases of hard yards before Jordan Larmour easily brushed off a pathetic attempt at a tackle by Nick Tompkins before powering to the line to score the game's first try.

Wales hit back in the 28th minute though, after captain Alun Wyn Jones cleverly offloaded to send Dan Biggar through the defence, and he fed Tomos Williams, with the scrum half diving in to finish just wide of the posts for an easy conversion.

However, it was Williams' error that led to Ireland retaking the lead within just 4 minutes.

Under no pressure, he knocked-on just 5 metres from his own line, and from the resulting scrum Ireland turned up the pressure until Tadhg Furlong bulldozed over from close range, with Sexton this time adding the extras to make it 10-7.

7 minutes into the second half, Ireland were encamped in the Welsh 22 before captain Jonny Sexton opted to use a penalty to kick for the corner, and the resulting lineout maul brought about the third try.

A mass of forwards powered their way through the Welsh defence, and it was Irish flanker Josh van der Flier who was judged to have touched down close the corner, with Sexton converting from a difficult angle in windy conditions.

Wales looked to have replied through Hadleigh Parkes in the 56th minute, but as the center reached for the line he lost control of the ball and knocked it on, giving Ireland a bit of a let-off after some tired-looking defending.

Ulster's John Cooney didn't come off the bench until the 73rd minute, and he ensured Ireland moved the ball quickly through the phases which created the space for Andrew Conway to run in the bonus point try 3 minutes later.

There was still time for Justin Tipuric to rumble over for Wales, but the damage was already done, and Halfpenny's conversion was the final action of the game.