Rugby / Bunker Nuggets

Wales v Ireland

 

The top two meet at the Millennium Stadium with Ireland going for the Grand Slam and the winner taking the Triple Crown as well.

Ireland have not won the Grand Slam since 1948

Ireland go into the game with a two point lead over the Welsh and a points difference 25 better than the home side 

 

Fixture History

 

·         Last season Wales were 16-12 winners at Croke Park over the Irish and have a winning record in Dublin 

·         Ireland have a winning record in the Millennium Stadium in the 6 Nations with three wins in four visits

·         Last time the two sides met at the Millennium Stadium the Irish left with a 19-9 win out scoring the Welsh three tries to nil  

·         Ireland lead the series with six wins and the Welsh have three

·         Ireland’s biggest win in Cardiff was in 2001 when they were 36-6 winners

·         Ronan O’Gara has played nine times against Wales and scored 80 point his lowest total against any of the other sides in the Championship, although he has scored three tries against them the most he has scored against any side in the 6 Nations   

·         Stephen Jones has played nine times against Ireland in the 6 Nations and scored 80 points including three tries, and has only scored more points against France and Scotland    

·         Shane Williams does not have the best of try scoring records against the Irish in the 6 Nations with just the one in five appearances   

·         Irish centre Brian O’Driscoll has scored four times against the Welsh in nine starts

  

Current Season

·         Ireland are the top scores in this season Championship with 104 points and have the joint best defensive record with England conceding 58 points

·         Ireland have already won in Scotland and Italy this season as they look for a third away win in a row

·         Six of Ireland’s 10 tries have come on the road this season and for Wales it is even a higher % with only one of their eight coming at the Millennium Stadium 

·         Ireland have outscored the Welsh 10 tries to eight and seven of them have come in the second half whilst the Welsh have an even split four in each half

·         The Irish have only conceded three tries in four matches and the Welsh have let in five

·         Ireland have yet to concede a try away from home this season

 

·         Ireland have the most ever presents in this seasons Championship with 11 and seven of them have played every minute of every match

·         Centre Brian O’Driscoll is the leading try scorer with three one more than winger Luke Fitzgerald

·         Only five Welsh players have started all four matches this season and only second row Alan Wyn Jones has played every minute of every match 

·         Wales have three players on two tries this season, Shane Williams, Leigh Halfpenny and Tom Shanklin

·         Lock Alan Wyn Jones is the only forward to score for the Welsh this season

·         Lee Byrne along with England’s Delon Armitage are only full back to score a try in this seasons Championship, Byrne has one and Armitage three  

·         Ireland have only conceded three tries in four matches and the Welsh five

·         Ronan O’Gara has a strike rate of 76% with 19 of his 25 kicks hitting the target during the Championship, whilst for the Welsh Stephen Jones is down on 66.67 with 10 of his 15 kicks hitting the target, all nine of his penalties were on target but he only nailed one of his six conversions    

·         Going into this match Ireland had used just 19 players in their starting XV compared to 24 by Wales

·         Ireland have used 10 players over 30 year of age compared to just four by the Welsh which was the lowest total in the Championship

·         Ireland have only used 64% of their available Replacements during the Championship which is the lowest figure with Wales next on 71%

·         Welsh wing Leigh Halfpenny is the youngest player in this seasons Championship at 20 years and 48 days  

·         Both sides have lost just one player to the sin bin this season

 

All Time Stats  

 

·         Ronan O’Gara needs eight points to become the first person to reach 500 6 Nations points 

·         Stephen Jones is third on the all time list on 367 behind O’Gara and Jonny Wilkinson  

·         Brian O’Driscoll with 20 is the all time leading try scorer in the 6 Nations, three clear of Welsh wing Shane Williams 

·         Ronan O’Gara has scored 20 points three times in a six Nations matches, one behind Jonny Wilkinson   

·         Irish Prop John Hayes holds the record for most 6 Nations appearances with 48 along with Chris Paterson   

·         Ronan O’Gara will be looking to score in a 30^th consecutive 6 Nations match, eight more than Stephen Jones’s previous record 

·         Brian O’Driscoll is the only player to have scored two hat tricks in the Championship, Rob Henderson is the only other Irish player to score a hat trick v=during the Championship

·         No Welshman has ever scored a hat trick in the 6 Nations