Wales claimed victory over Ireland in a hard-fought encounter that hung in the balance until the final ten minutes.

Hooker Jayden Grey scored two of the Wales tries, with Oliver Ford, Donovan Rankin, Dylan Morgan, Carter Barnes, Jamie Jenkins and Mason Apsee all getting scores for the hosts. Stand-off Llewellyn Hawkes kicked five goals in a player of the match performance.

Ireland showed quality of their own, with winger Matt Cahill grabbing two tries, with further scores for Conor Coleman, Adam Quinn and Lewis Wing.

It was the perfect start for Wales with Ireland failing to gather the kick-off, providing an immediate opportunity to attack the Irish line – an opportunity exploited by Barnes to open the scoring within the first minute.

Undeterred by this early setback, Ireland scored twice through Quinn and then Wing to take the lead. A lively first-half continued, with Morgan, Rankin and Apsee crossing for Wales in a seven minute spell to race into a 22-4 lead.  Once again, Ireland showed their resolve to get back into the match before the break, with Cahill and Coleman tries, plus two goals, leaving the game in the balance at 22-16.

A lively opening twelve minutes of the second half saw the impressive Grey grab his brace – with Ireland striking back after each score through Quinn and then Wing to leave the game evenly poised going into the final quarter, with Wales leading 34-28.

But Jenkins’ try eight minutes from the end, converted by Apsee, put the game beyond Ireland’s reach, and Oliver Ford’s last-minute score extended the winning margin.