Rugby: Wales boss Warren Gatland admitted his team "got out of jail" after they claimed a dramatic Six Nations victory over Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. The visitors triumphed 23-21, courtesy of Leigh Halfpenny's 80th-minute penalty, which was awarded by English referee Wayne Barnes when Irish flanker Stephen Ferris tip-tackled Ian Evans.
Ferris received a yellow card, as did Wales lock Bradley Davies earlier in the game, although Davies’ tackle on Donnacha Ryan was far more serious and looks certain to see him cited and banned.
Wales outscored Ireland 3-2 on tries, and then Halfpenny came up trumps under colossal pressure to send his team on the march towards a possible Six Nations title and Grand Slam.
But Gatland said: “We were reasonably lucky. I thought we were only at about 70 per cent today. But to come here and be under pressure and to come back with 14 men shows great character.
“The displeasing thing was a bit of a lack of discipline with the yellow card. We got out of jail, but we’ve won our first game of the tournament away from home.
“We were down at half-time in the World Cup against Samoa, but we kept our patience and finished on top of them. That is what Test match rugby is all about taking your opportunities.”
Gatland felt Davies was lucky to only get a yellow card, and admitted he fears the worst in terms of a citing.
Wales are already without the services of injured locks Luke Charteris and Alun-Wyn Jones, so any period of suspension for Davies could hit secondrow resources hard.
“We’ve got to plan, potentially, for him being cited,” Gatland added. “I’ve seen a replay, and I won’t deny it wasn’t fantastic. Potentially, we have got to prepare for the worst.
“When you go behind with 15 minutes to go and you have a yellow card, you don’t have a lot of time to get back into the game. But this win has given us massive confidence, and we are dangerous when we are playing with belief and confidence. We know there is a lot of improvement in our game.”
Gatland hailed a “world-class” performance by wing George North, who scored one of Wales’ three tries, while he had sympathy for fly-half Rhys Priestland, who missed two easy penalty kicks.
“We shouldn’t have put so much pressure on Rhys with the kicks. He has been out (injured) for a few weeks. It is such a confidence role, but I thought he was excellent in the second half.”
Halfpenny took over kicking duties from Priestland, and he admitted his last-gasp strike as “the hardest kick I’ve had to take in all my life”.
He said: “As soon as it went over the emotion came. Having to deal with the miss against France in the World Cup semi-final, putting that over makes it all worthwhile.”
As for the game itself, Halfpenny added on BBC1: “It was end to end stuff, an exciting game. It was a tough test and all credit to Ireland, they really gave us a tough game.
“The score was back and forth, and I’m just really pleased to get the result for the rest of the campaign.”
Wales captain Sam Warburton, meanwhile, could know in the next 24 hours whether or not he has a realistic chance of being fit for next Sunday’s home game against Scotland.
Warburton went off at half-time nursing a dead leg, and he said: “I will go back and have treatment tonight and tomorrow, and the physios will make the call.
“The game reminded me a bit of the World Cup semi-final (Warburton was sent off). It’s horrible being sat on the bench not being able to influence the game, but I am chuffed to bits.
“I think there is a lot more to come from this team.”
