CRAZY things happen in Cardiff.
We’ve seen down through the years what Welsh rugby sides are capable of in the Principality Stadium – especially when the roof is closed.
And so it proved as Ireland fought back to finish February with a flourish, winning a thrilling Six Nations battle 27-18.
In the end, the Ireland machine proved too strong despite a scare in Cardiff where they trailed at the break and fell further behind early in the second half.
They recovered to pick up a 14th Triple Crown in their history and remain on course for an unprecedented three Six Nations titles in a row and a Grand Slam.
France will have a big say in that when they come to Dublin this weekend – and let’s just appreciate their efforts in Italy when they were part of the record breaking highest try tally in a Six Nations game. Fourteen tries were scored in Rome, 11 of those by the French.
Back to Cardiff and there’s something about that atmosphere. It’s very special.
Walking to the game is like an experience all on its own. Bands are playing on every street corner, Delilah by Tom Jones blasts from the bars, face painting pop ups every hundred yards and seas of red and green swarm the surrounding area of the impressive stadium. That just whets the appetite.
When you get inside, the light show, music and big band pre-match make you feel like you’re at a concert, the moisture in the air (carrying the odd whiff of beer from the raucous stands) makes you feel more connected to the action and the passion from the belting out of the anthems, permeates through the crowd to make you feel goosebumps.
But before the latest round of the Guinness Six Nations that atmosphere had been non-existent at their Principality home for two years, according to the locals I interviewed for UTV.
Not a single game won in 2024, 14 defeats in a row, their last try was against South Africa in the Autumn and even the most successful coach in their history, Warren Gatland, fell on his own sword after defeat to Italy in round two.
One Irish radio show joked in the build up that 12 of Ireland’s team could beat Wales’ 15 men.
But boy did that viral clip backfire. Aside from the Irish being labelled arrogant because of those comments, which this Ireland team are most definitely not under Andy Farrell and Simon Easterby’s leadership, Wales put up an arm wrestle and pushed Ireland all the way.
They led at the break and increased it after the restart with a second try of the game.
Their attacking threat was much more dangerous than it had been in a long time and even though interim boss Matt Sherratt has insisted he is only taking charge for the remaining Six Nations games before returning to his job as Cardiff head coach, many will be hoping he considers sticking around a while longer after such a positive performance, and that was with just four training sessions under his leadership.
Former Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton said he hadn’t felt that happy leaving the stadium in years and another pundit said that Sherratt had put a smile back on three million Welsh faces after that performance.
Ireland’s interim coach, Simon Easterby, who had been heavily linked with the Welsh job earlier in the week because of all his ties to the country and the fact he lives there with his family, paid tribute to his opposite number after the game and said he wasn’t a bit surprised at the fight they put up and passion they played with.
Easterby is believed to be Wales’ first choice for the job when Sherratt finishes up at the end of the Six Nations, but there’s reportedly a £500,000 buy out clause for his services and also the fact he is part of one of the most successful teams in world rugby right now. That would be hard to walk away from after years of hard work with this team and the thought of righting a few wrongs at the next World Cup in 2027 in Australia.
It’s been an enthralling Championship so far, even non rugby fans have been hooked, and it will only get more exciting as the end draws near. There is so much still to play for but Ireland are in the driving seat.
What an atmosphere in Cardiff for Ireland’s win over Wales (above and below)
The old guard and the new… Peter O’Mahony and Sam Prendergast celebrate winning the Triple Crown with Ireland. A team wins this when they beat each home nation in the Six Nations
The women’s Six Nations kicks off the week after the men’s championship wraps up but already back in competitive action are the two football sides. Northern Ireland lost 2-0 to Poland in their opening Nations League game but responded with a 3-2 win over Bosnia at Inver Park a few days later. The Republic of Ireland, under new manager Carla Ward, beat Turkey 1-0 in their opener but then fell to a 4-0 defeat away in Slovenia.
NI manager Tanya Oxtoby has already proved she isn’t afraid to play youth as we saw Linfield’s 20 year old striker Keri Halliday make her debut in 2023 and 18 year old Glentoran forward Kascie Weir made her debut in Poland and her first start against Bosnia.
Northern Ireland’s excellent start at Inver was encouraging but when they went 2-1 down early in the second half they left themselves with a mountain to climb. But up stepped captain Simone Magill with two goals to win the game.
The character of the team to not give up and fight to the end pleased their manager although Oxtoby joked to me afterwards “I told them never to put me through that again! But I’m so proud of them and Simone led by example, I was delighted for her getting the two goals.”
Next up Northern Ireland have a double header against Romania at the start of April and the Republic face Greece home and away.
Reporting from Galgorm on IFA’s planned new National Training Centre as envisaged, below
It was a good 24 hours for Northern Ireland football because the new National Training Centre plans were announced the morning after that 3-2 win. The partnership with Galgorm will see a state of the art facility with world class pitches and training facilities built across from the main Galgorm Resort and Spa in the surrounding fields and will provide a base for each team associated with the IFA, senior and underage.
The centre has been on the drawing board for over a decade but the venue has finally been agreed. The luxury hotel, regarded as the best in the province by many, will provide a base for teams to stay while having world class facilities on their doorstep.
“You only have to visit this venue once to see that there is excellence everywhere,” Michael O’Neill told me while reporting on the Galgorm announcement for UTV.
“That’s what we want to build here in terms of the national training centre so that our young players can prepare as best as possible in the best environment possible. Certainly this opportunity gives us the aspiration to build something very special.”
Angela Platt, IFA Director of Women’s Football, added: “Our men’s and women’s senior teams have had to train away from Northern Ireland to prepare for international competitions, but to have all our teams under one roof really gives us that cultural identity that everyone can feel that they’re a part of the Northern Ireland identity and the Northern Ireland journey.”
The plan is for the centre to be ready for the summer of 2028 for the Euros.
“We’d hope to be on site by late this year or early next year,” Colin Johnson, Managing Director of Galgorm Collection told me.
“Both organisations are high energy and it goes without saying we are both very passionate about what we do so it can only be a good thing bringing both organisations together.”
With NI goal hero Simone Magill
