Hoping to build on their momentous victory at Twickenham, Ireland got up and running quickly when in-form centre Stuart McCloskey teed up Ulster team-mate Stockdale for his first Test try since July 2021.
Stockdale’s score came after Wales kicked the ball dead and Ireland won the resultant scrum, suggesting a long night was in store for the visitors.
However, after a Jack Conan try was ruled out for Tom O’Toole’s knock-on, Wales grew in confidence with a couple of mood-lifting turnovers from captain Dewi Lake and Alex Mann as Edwards’ straightforward penalty put them on the board.
A sustained spell of pressure from the away side failed to yield their first try after Carre was held up on the line by Caelan Doris, James Ryan and McCloskey.
After a stout display of Irish defending, Wales landed some big hits on the hosts at the other end before Crowley darted through a gap for a well-taken try that he failed to convert.
But after riding an early wave of Irish pressure, Wales got the try their display warranted in spectacular fashion.
Taking a pass from scrum-half Tomos Williams, Carre feigned a pass to the left wing before switching direction to outfox Rob Baloucoune, breeze clear of Tadhg Furlong and score a superb solo try – his third score of the tournament.
It was undoubtedly the highlight of a fairly forgettable opening half and gave Wales renewed hope at the break.
When Conan crashed over and survived another TMO check early in the second half, Ireland threatened to pull away from Wales, but the visitors refused to wilt.
Following a scrappy, disjointed period, Nicky Smith won a scrum penalty off Furlong and gave Wales an attacking opportunity from which Botham’s converted try brought them back to within two points.
With 20 minutes remaining, the sense of nervousness among Ireland fans in the stadium was palpable until Osborne raced through at the end of a flowing attacking move to put daylight between the sides.
Although Crowley missed a straightforward conversion, the fly-half made up for it with a late penalty that crushed Wales’ hopes of a draw and completed a hard-fought win for Ireland.
