O'Leary runs the show at scrumhalf

Under-21 international match / Ireland 30 Wales 19: Ireland blew the Six Nations competition wide open with a stylish win against the defending champions in Galway yesterday.

Playing open and scintillating rugby, the home side controlled the game from the off, and in truth were more comfortable winners than even the scoreline suggests.

Up 22-9 at the break, they more or less sealed the game through a wonderful breakaway try by their lean and electric winger Tommy Bowe on 48 minutes.

Although that was their final score of the match, and they retreated into a conservative defensive formation as the Welsh ran desperately at them over the closing quarter, this was a performance that bodes well for the remainder of the championship.

Ireland played a clever game, none more so than scrumhalf Tomás O'Leary, whose fabulous afternoon was spoiled when he was sin-binned for an indeterminable reason just eight minutes from time. Before that, the young Cork Constitution player gave a classic scrumhalf performance.

If anything, he, rather than his outhalf partner Gareth Steenson, called the shots in the first half. He constantly box-kicked in the first half to use the strong, swirling breeze above the Sportsground, tricky kicks which Welsh full back Matthew Nuthall found tough to deal with.

In the second half, he drove the earthy Irish pack deep into Welsh territory before seeking to off-load. When he did pass, his service to Steenson was immaculate and the Queen's outhalf created the early scores with a series of skip passes.

Jamie Heaslip trotted over for Ireland's first try on seven minutes after Steenson combined with Bowe and John Hearty. On 13 minutes, the excellent David Gannon bundled over in the same corner, as the Irish again stretched the Welsh defence with two long, cross-field passes.

Hearty then took his team into the comfort zone when he made a great pick-up at speed on a Steenson pass that fell short and burst through under the posts.

Wales kept in touch through Lee Thomas, the latest in their endless line of talented place-kickers. They needed his accuracy, for the visitors failed to carry the ball over Ireland's 22 even once in the first half.

The defensive organisation by the home team was splendid, with barely a missed tackle all day. The aggression with which they repelled the one-dimensional charges of big John Yapp and Richard Dale never flagged, with Heaslip, Fogarty and John Wickham thriving in close contact.

Wales' day started poorly when Yapp was sin binned after five minutes for an altercation with Shane O'Connor and it went downhill after that. Two second-half tries - wriggling, tenacious, individual efforts - from replacement scrumhalf Richard Rees was their only consolation. Out-half Scott McLeod could not get his backline moving so the extravagantly named Francesco Brilliante had no opportunity to prove it out on the wing.

Wales had much of the second-half possession without ever really alarming their opponents. Instead, it was Ireland who created most of the meaningful movement. with Glen Telford - a shimmering threat - and Bowe making another lacerating burst that brought the pack to the Welsh try line on 60 minutes.

That move was stopped short and, somewhat out of the blue, Rees squirmed over for Wales' first try on 67 minutes.

Bodies were tiring at this point, and although Wales went over again, there was no real urgency about their demeanour, no real sense that they felt this game was salvageable.

It was a terrific home debut for coach Mark McCall and suggests he has picked up seamlessly where Michael Bradley left off.

IRELAND: A Finn (Dolphin); R Lane (UCC), J Hearty (Blackrock College), G Telford (Dungannon), T Bowe (QUB); G Steenson (QUB), T O'Leary (Cork Constitution); J Wickham (Clontarf), D Fogarty (Cork Constitution), D Fitzpatrick (Belfast Harlequins); D Gannon (Blackrock College, capt), S O'Connor (Cork Constitution); B O'Connor (Cork Constitution), O Hennessy (Dungannon), J Heaslip (DU). Replacements: D O'Brien (Old Belvedere) for B O'Connor (half-time, inj), S Bennett (Bath) for D Fitzpatrick (half-time), N McComb (Dundee HSFP) for S O'Connor (76 mins).

WALES: M Nuthall; Ifan Evans, R Payne, L Thomas, F Brilliante; S McLeod, R Wells; J Yapp, H Bennett, C Griffiths; Ian Evans, L Charteris; J Merriman, R Pugh; R Dale. Replacements: J Mills for Ian Evans (50 mins), R Rees for R Wells (50 mins), G Evans for L Charteris (76 mins).

Referee: S Davey (England).