We don’t know about you reader, but Sportin Wales cannot remember the last time Wales played that well in defeat.

In recent years there have been agonising nailbiters and disappointing blowouts, but none have been have inspired as much hope as Wales’s 18-27 loss against Ireland in round three of the 2025 Six Nations.

Matt Sherratt’s first outing as interim head coach saw his side play with endeavour and skill, platforming the excellent Welsh backline while maintaining solidity and more little dominance at set piece.

Let’s dig into the things we learnt from Wales vs Ireland!

Round Pegs In Round Holes

With Rob Howley leaving his role as attack coach of Wales in the days after Warren Gatland’s departure, Matt Sherratt took on the role of running the Welsh attack.

Sherratt has been an attack coach for his whole career up until taking the top job at Cardiff in 2023, prioritising ball movement amongst the backline with a playmaking inside centre.

With this in mind, Sherratt recalled flyhalves Gareth Anscombe and Jarrod Evans, who both played important parts in the Welsh performance.

Anscombe was solid form the tee and immediately connected well with Ben Thomas, restored to his preferred 12 jersey and looking all the better for it.

Max Llewellyn, another recalled to the squad last week, started at outside centre and offered more carrying threat than any Welsh centre in the competition so far.

It can look slightly over-complicated at times, but Sherratt putting round pegs in round holes immediately raised the level of the Welsh attack.

Electric Scarlets Back Three Shines

While Anscombe, Thomas and Evans gave Wales an attacking platform, it was the trio of Scarlets speedsters that really shone on Saturday.

Tom Rogers provided the most eye catching moment of the match with his extraordinary leaping finish to put Wales 18-10 ahead in the 42nd minute, but all three offered a threat throughout.

Debutant Ellis Mee made metres every time he touched the ball and was so close to a debut try with seven minutes left. Receiving the ball from Jarrod Evans with 10 metres to go, Mee rode the tackle from Mack Hansen and, under significant pressure from Jamie Osborne, fell just short of the line.

The wingers had the headline moments, but Blair Murray stood out.

With his past experience as a winger and flyhalf, Murray was able to step into a number of roles throughout the course of the match. Despite his shorter stature than other modern fullbacks, he is excellent under the high ball and in defence, as evidenced by his try-saving tackle on Hansen in the second half.

With ball in hand, he is such an elusive runner. For Rogers’ try, Murray made Prendergast look like a training cone and his delay of the pass gave his wing the 1-on-1 that Rogers took with aplomb.

Set Piece Dominance

With Wales’s revamped attack, the backs needed a platform upon which to play. Sherratt completely changed the front row of the pack from Wales’s first two rounds and it paid immediately dividens.

Nicky Smith and WillGriff John, brought in for Gareth and Henry Thomas, won four scrum penalties, with John standing out in particular against potential British and Irish Lions starter Andrew Porter.

Smith gave the inexperienced Tom Clarkson as torrid time, giving Wales consistent penalty opportunities.

Another brought in was Elliot Dee. The best set piece hooker Wales have available, Dee was solid at the scrum and near-perfect in the lineout.

In the second row, Dafydd Jenkins returned to call the lineout after missing the Italy contest and Wales’s 95% completion speaks for itself.

Sudden Lions Contenders

Every Six Nations that takes place before a Lions tour takes on a slightly strange element. Each individual performance, whether good or bad, is assessed under the spotlight of: should this player been on the plane to Australia this summer? No doubt, you have read many of these pieces in recent weeks.

Prior to this weekend, you could count the Welsh candidates for the 2025 Lions tour on one hand. Jac Morgan’s performances in defeats have been other-worldly, while Tomos Williams and Dafydd Jenkins are often amongst the runners and riders in their respective positions.

Dewi Lake is currently injured, but once he is back the Ospreys hooker will be in contention.

Now though, there are Welsh players who look in form and firing for the first time in months. If Wales’s scrum continues it’s dominance over fellow Lions hopefuls in Blue and White jerseys in the coming weeks, Nicky Smith will have a decent chance of making the plane.

Similarly in the back row, where Tommy Reffell and Aaron Wainwright are clearly excellent international operators. With the Lions options in the back row looking relatively inexperienced, who better to be a midweek captain or bench option than three-time tourist Taulupe Faletau.

Suddenly all the Welsh backs look like potential bolters. The Scarlets trio could break into a competitive back three contest, while Max Llewellyn is playing as well as any centre in Europe right now.

The Kids Are Alright

Cynical Welsh fans reading this may well be thinking ‘hang on, didn’t Wales lose on Saturday?’ And to that, yes, they would be right.

However, a Welsh team did win over the weekend, as Wales U20s pulled of a stunning 20-12 victory over Ireland at Rodney Parade.

First half scores from Steff Emanuel and a penalty try put Wales 14-0 up before Henry Walker and Eoghan Smyth hit back for Ireland. Second half penalties from the playmaking Harris, Wilde and Ford, gave Wales a cushion before they held out for victory.

It was a heroic defensive display from Wales as they made 230 tackles in total. Captain Harry Beddall made a scarcely believable 34 tackles in total. For reference, the record in a senior Six Nations match is 31.

With that victory, Wales U20 have now won back-to-back Six Nations matches for the first time in five years. It was also their first victory over Ireland since 2017.

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