By scoring four tries, the Irish, disciplined and diligent, bent the rejuvenated XV of the Leek and who only saved the honor at the very end of the match with a try from Taine Basham on a stolen ball (29-7 , 76th).

Twenty years after a historic rout (54-10) at Lansdowne Road, Wayne Pivac's men have paid a high price for the absences of their emblematic captain Alun Wyn Jones, but also those of George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Taulupe Faletau, Justin Tipuric , Josh Navidi or Ken Owens.

Opposite, Ireland were remarkably clean in the contact phases - only 5 penalties conceded, all in the last half hour of the match - and recited their rugby, even if there was sometimes a little waste, especially in the first period.

The locals got off to a good start.

Mack Hansen, voted man of the match for his international debut, lit the first fuse and, a few seconds later, transmitted a jump pass to Bundee Aki, whom the three-quarter center only had to flatten in the in-goal (7-0, 4th).

Two foot failures, unusual for him, from Johnny Sexton and some badly exploited good situations meant that at the break the score did not reflect the green domination (10-0).

But shortly after returning from the locker room, a good wide attack allowed Andrew Conway to pass Louis Rees-Zammit in one-on-one and cross the line on his momentum, to give his team a little margin (17-0 , 44th).

Irish opener Johnny Sexton kicks a penalty against the Welsh in Six Nations, February 5, 2022 in Dublin Paul Faith AFP

Things got even more complicated for the Welsh when Josh Adams, starting in the center, received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Sexton (49th) leaving his teammates in numerical inferiority.

Ireland affirms its ambitions

With a lot of patience, by chaining the playing times, the Irish built a third try - the second for Conway - very easy with a surplus at sea (24-0, 52nd).

A nice interval shot from Gary Ringrose, after a ball lost by the Welsh near their 22 meters, then allowed the Irish to secure the offensive bonus (29-0, 59th) and a comfortable success, despite the opponent's consolation try at the end of the match.

After its fine autumn series, culminating in a success against New Zealand (29-20), Ireland affirmed its ambitions in this Tournament, after its 3rd place last year.

Irish center Garry Ringrose (ball in hand) very prominent during the success of the XV of Clover against the Welsh in Dublin, February 5, 2022 Paul Faith AFP

The clash in France next Saturday is already shaping up to be a first turning point towards final victory.

For Wales, on the other hand, the apprenticeship of young people will continue with the reception of Scotland in a week in Cardiff.

© 2022 AFP