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Brian Lawless / AP
James Lowe is congratulated by his Irish teammates after scoring on his international debut against Wales.
New Zealand winger James Lowe capped off a dream debut for Ireland by scoring in the 80th minute to beat Wales 32-9 in their opener of the Fall Nations Cup on Saturday (NZT).
The result consigned Wales, coached by Kiwi Wayne Pivac, to a sixth consecutive defeat.
Ireland overcame two late player withdrawals and injury forced exits in an empty Aviva stadium.
The Irish dominated the first half as lock Quinn Roux scored the only try, and Wales fought back in the second half, but still did not threaten the home team’s try line.
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Wales are on their worst losing streak in seven years, and Georgia will smell blood when they meet next week.
RNZ
Former All Blacks coach Laurie Mains explains in overtime how things need to change for rugby to remain an engaging and entertaining sport.
Coach Andy Farrell’s experimental Ireland selection, two weeks after a failed attempt to win the Six Nations in Paris, triumphed when new international matches Lowe, on the left wing, was a constant danger and splashed at the end, and the first Five Billy Burns played like a polished veteran in his 35 minutes after replacing an injured Jonathan Sexton.
Lowe became eligible to represent Ireland after qualifying through residency earlier this month.
“I’ve always wanted to play international football and I keep thinking, if I had been lucky, I would have played a handful of games for New Zealand. But that didn’t really make me feel strong enough for me to stay, “he said recently. Things.
Brian Lawless / AP
James Lowe breaks down the left wing during his Irish debut.
With a first outing, New Zealand-born running back Jamison Gibson-Park also ignited the team with a quick serve.
Sexton, Burns and Conor Murray each kicked two penalties as they punished a Welsh team that couldn’t maintain discipline without the ball, struggling at scrum in the first half and lineouts in the second. Leigh Halfpenny kicked every point for Wales.
The start and stop nature of the match underscored disappointment at the early cancellation of the France-Fiji match on Monday, on paper the best matchup of the first round.
Ireland started with setbacks before kick-off when blocking Iain Henderson (medical issue) and fullback Jacob Stockdale (calf pain) had to fold, bringing in Roux and Andrew Conway, and moving Hugo Keenan to fullback.
