Wales take Triple Crown

Wales remain on course for the Grand Slam after scoring a 16-12 RBS Six Nations victory against Ireland at Croke Park.

With the visitors chasing the Slam and Ireland still in the hunt for the championship the contest had been billed as being pivotal and had the build-up to match.

And, in the event it proved as tight a meeting as the scoreline suggested - Ireland's early lead gradually undone by Welsh domination of possession and territory.

Shane Williams scored the game's only try in the second half but, thanks to the boot of Ronan O'Gara, Ireland nevertheless found themselves just one point behind with 10 minutes left.

In the event, it was Wales who secured a deserved Triple Crown victory, and with France now separating them from a 100 percent record, the dark days following last autumn's World Cup disappointment must seem a distant memory.

With their forward line keeping possession into a head wind with slow ball, O'Gara kicked Ireland into the lead after Wales conceded a penalty in front of the posts after four minutes.

Wales' early possession merely resulted in a couple of turnovers and, after John Hayes conceded a penalty from similar range after 10 minutes, Stephen Jones' attempt to level went wide - their first miss of the Six Nations.

Jonathan Thomas then failed to roll away from the tackle, handing O'Gara the chance to double Ireland's lead with a second penalty after 18 minutes.

After gaining territory thanks to a chip through from O'Gara which actually hit the corner post before trickling out of play, Ireland looked to have scored the opening try when Shane Horgan ploughed forward after 22 minutes.

Relief

But Welsh fans heaved a sigh of relief when the combination of Mike Phillips and Shane Williams caused the big winger to ground the ball just short.

Jones put the first Welsh points on the board after 26 minutes following a penalty conceded by Denis Leamy for pulling down at the lineout. However, after Euan Reddan was ajudged offside at a scrum, Jones missed the chance to level the match three minutes later.

Perhaps knowing that they had the spurned the opportunity to go in front, Wales finally started to work the ball along the backline - a promising break on the nearside seeing Lee Byrne hustled into touch.

Moments later, a break inspired by captain Ryan Jones saw the ball again go wide but the result was the same - Mark Jones on this occasion playing a forward pass.

Unfortunately for Wales, Phillips then spoiled their good work by kneeing Marcus Horan in the back in prime Ireland territory. With the scrum-half sin-binned and pressure relieved, Ireland played out the opening period to lead 6-3 at half-time.

Playing into the wind into the second half, Wales pressed forward in much the same way as Ireland had at the start of the first and were rewarded with a penalty - Jones levelling.

The opening try finally came after 50 minutes and stemmed from Rob Kearney losing possession inside Ireland's half. The ball was then fed wide, with Shane Williams fending off three challenges before touching down.

Jones converted and still Wales dominated - a break from Phillips eventually coming to nought when the ball was knocked on.

Jamie Heaslip then broke for Ireland but his final pass was intercepted by Stephen Jones. However, a trip by Martyn Williams on Reddan in the same play resulted in both the former being sin-binned and a penalty kicked by O'Gara.

The home side were suddenly spurred into life on the hour and, one man up, Ireland pressed. With James Hook replacing Stephen Jones, O'Gara kicked a simple fourth penalty to bring the deficit back to one point.

Needless

Another substitution came with less than 10 minutes remaining - Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll replaced by Luke Fitzgerald after suffering a torn hamstring.

With the game there for the taking, Ireland tried to put together the phases and press forward; instead they gave away a needless penalty - replacement Bernard Jackman having thudded into a prone Ryan Jones from behind.

Hook found the target to hand Wales a four-point lead with five minutes remaining and, having gained possession once more, they proceeded to play out the 80 minutes.