IRELAND 68 WALES 28
IAN GOLDEN, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, Tuesday

IRELAND pulled away from Wales in the final quarter of this classic to knock their Celtic rivals out of the World Cup.

It was the match that was expected to be the highlight of the group stages and it didn’t disappoint, with the lead changing hands on a number of occasions before the Wolfhounds scored six late tries without reply to seal their place in the semi-finals.

Ireland took the lead in the fourth minute, with a set spanning three quarters of the field after Wales gave away a penalty. Cian Horgan reached out to score, despite the efforts of Stuart Williams, who tagged him less than a second after he grounded. Phil Roberts’ goal attempt hit the post.

But straight away, Wales regained the ball and scored, with Sid Ramsey forcing his way under the posts. Matthew Turner, celebrating his 17th birthday on the day of the match, converted to put Wales 6-4 up.

Again, Ireland scored in the corner, and again just before a tag, as Joe Calcott grounded and player-coach Roberts converted.

Both sides had their chances as the intensity of the match increased. Horgan was prevented from scoring a second in the corner, then Turner had a try disallowed.

And it was Ireland who increased their lead on 23 minutes after Mel Griffith fed Tom Martin in space, who grounded well. Roberts converted to give Ireland a 16-6 lead.

Ireland’s fourth try came on 29 minutes when Calcott was given too much space to score his second, although Horgan couldn’t land the kick.

But Wales struck back with an excellent move that saw Mark Williams receive a Stuart Williams pass and evade Tom Martin to score in the corner. Turner converted well, and the most competitive half of the tournament so far was left at 20-12 to Ireland.

Wales made the perfect start to the second half with Andrew Higgins scoring, after Ireland conceded a penalty. Then after Wales won a goal-line drop-out, Stuart Williams forced his way over. Turner converted both and Wales now had a 24-20 lead.

But not for long. Calcott grounded in the corner for his hat-trick, before quickly adding his fourth. Roberts converted both and the match had swung back to Ireland as they led 32-24.

Wales were next over as Turner dived on a Stuart Williams grubber for his 49th try of the season for club and country, but was unable to convert.

Horgan offered the Irish response with his second try of the match and Roberts converted for the Wolfhounds to regain their ten-point advantage.

And when Horgan went over in the corner on 65 minutes, it was game over for Wales.

Calcott (two), Horgan and Jack Mangan added further tries, with Roberts kicking all the remaining conversions, to give the scoreline an unbalanced look.

GAMESTAR: Joe Calcott led from the front against a tough Wales side, scoring six tries.

GAMEBREAKER: Cian Horgan’s try on 65 minutes sealed the match for Ireland.

MATCHFACTS

IRELAND
2 Cian Horgan
5 Mel Griffith
6 Tom Martin
7 Phil Roberts
9 Joe Calcott
Subs (all used)
1 Oran Spain
4 Toby Burton-Carter
12 Jack Mangan

Tries: Horgan (5, 62, 65, 72), Calcott (12, 29, 49, 52, 67, 78), Martin (23), Mangan (75)
Goals: Roberts 10/11, Horgan 0/1

WALES
1 Sid Ramsey
5 Jodie Boyd-Ward
7 Stuart Williams
9 Matthew Turner
3 Lee Sargent
Subs (all used)
4 Andrew Higgins
6 Jonathan Gill
10 Mark Williams

Tries: Ramsey (7), M Williams (35), Higgins (42), S Williams (46), Matthew Turner (55)
Goals: Matthew Turner 4/5

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 4-6, 10-6, 16-6, 20-6, 20-12; 20-18, 20-24, 26-24, 32-24, 32-28, 38-28, 44-28, 50-28, 56-28, 62-28, 68-28

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Players of the Match
Ireland: Joe Calcott; Wales: Stuart Williams

Penalty count: 9-5
Half-time: 20-12
Referees: Jake Brook and Maxine Godinet
Attendance: 838