By Phil Blanche, PA
Simon Easterby praised Ireland’s mentality for “digging ourselves out of a hole” to overcome Wales in the Six Nations and keep their Grand Slam dream alive.
Ireland started as massive favourites in Cardiff to inflict a 15th-successive defeat on Wales following the departure of their head coach Warren Gatland.
But, having lost centre Garry Ringrose to a 20-minute red card midway through the second quarter, Ireland found themselves 18-10 adrift before rallying in the closing stages to triumph 27-18 and win an eighth Triple Crown in the Six Nations era.
“I’m pleased with the result because we go down a man and then we go down on the scoreboard,” said interim Ireland boss Easterby.
“We came in at half-time and felt, if we played in the right way, we could dominate them.
Ireland host France in Dublin in two weeks’ time with a third-successive Six Nations title very much in sight.
They conclude their programme in Rome on the final weekend of the Championship on March 15.
On Ireland’s three wins, Easterby said: “We would certainly have taken this a few weeks back.
“The mark of this group is they always want to get better and chase down things that other teams can’t do. That’s something that will continue to drive the team over the next couple of weeks towards France.
“Getting this result in a different way to winning in Scotland and beating England at home means we keep building the experiences and keep driving the mentality to do things well.”
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