Ireland hooker Rónan Kelleher found as good an analogy as anyone.
“We were just trying to pound the rock,” he said after Friday’s 27-17 bonus-point win over Wales at the Aviva Stadium.
It wasn’t as pretty as the record 42-21 win at Twickenham two weeks ago. It wasn’t as smooth or as emphatic. It didn’t declare Ireland were back as loudly as that win over England, but there was tremendous satisfaction in the way Ireland arm-wrestled Wales when they needed to and physically matched them around the park.
Ireland beat a dogged Wales side under the lights at the Aviva
Nor were there any disappointed whispers from Ireland’s management about a lack of intent.
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“Look, we probably didn’t hit the same level [as against England],” said Kelleher. “But I suppose every Test match is different, there were different challenges. I think in the England match, we were unbelievably clinical and ruthless in that first half, we kind of built up a bit of a score and managed to convert that pressure to points.
“While today, I think we did a lot of good things. We got into the right areas, we just didn’t come away with the tries.
“It was obviously a very dogged, very tough Test match. They were never going to sit down and just take a beating. They were always going to fight, which they showed out there.”
The reality was that while Ireland led throughout, they didn’t get so far ahead as to be able to fully relax. Twice Wales came tantalising close to bridging the gap with just two points between the teams – 12-10 at half-time and 19-17 just after the hour – but Ireland responded each time with a try to extend the lead.
“I think it’s very easy to get lulled into a false sense that you’re going to show up and do a job, which will never ever be the case, especially in this competition,” said Kelleher.
“Every game is so tough, we were obviously happy getting the bonus points. I think we were all very aware we were a little bit inaccurate at times, especially in the 22, converting that kind of pressure to points.
“But all credit to them, they defended really well, got some crucial poaches at some crucial times.”
For the players, the thrill of Friday Night Lights was another bonus, and the lively crowd bought into the on-pitch battles, lifting the team.
“I thought the atmosphere was unbelievable,” Kelleher added. “It definitely drove us on at times.
“We could feel the energy from the crowd, which was obviously a help for us, especially during those long passages of play where we were obviously going round the corner and just kind of chucking it up.
“It allowed us a bit of an extra pep in our step. But I think as well, the tightness of the game probably brought the crowd into it a bit more. I think they saw there was a bit of jeopardy there and I think that was obviously massive for us in the end.”
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