Andy Farrell & Caelan Doris react to Ireland's Six Nations win over Wales

Friday, 06 March 2026 at 23:21

byTom Sansom

Ireland have the Triple Crown in their sights, following a hard-fought 27-17 victory over Wales in the fourth round of the 2026 Guinness Men's Six Nations. The men in green had to battle to the very end against an impressive Welsh side, with tries from Jacob Stockdale, Jack Conan, Jack Crowley and Jamie Osborne building daylight for the win.

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There was plenty of pride on the line, as emotions ran high in this Celtic Clash and tempers were quick to flare under the lights of the Aviva Stadium. Following the match, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was joined by his captain Caelan Doris, to address the media with their immediate thoughts. Here are the five biggest talking points from the aftermath.

5 TALKING POINTS: IRELAND 27 - 17 WALES - 2026 SIX NATIONS

"PROPER TEST MATCH" - ANDY FARRELL QUICK TO PRAISE WALES IN HARD-FOUGHT CLASH

Despite Ireland being expected by many fans and pundits alike to cruise to a one-sided win over Wales, there was plenty of fight within a resilient visiting side. Steve Tandy's men arrived in Dublin to fight to the very end, and Ireland head coach Andy Farrell handed Wales their flowers from a hard-fought Test match.

ANDY FARRELL: "Wales did fantastically well to stay in the game. Like Caelan said, If it goes to 14 Points, this is a different game. But they play tough, they hung on in there, and kept it close, obviously on the scoreboard, but I thought they was tremendous tonight.

"That was a proper test match, and for us to come away with a bonus point win, we'd certainly take that with with how the game unfolded. It was a different game to the game that we played last time around.
In regards to, we weren't playing rugby on the front foot because of how well they defended. I thought there was excellent in contact and [at the] set piece, and they could be really proud of their performance."

OFFSIDE IS A 'HOT-BED': ANDY FARRELL CASTS HIS VIEW UPON IRELAND'S MOUNTING PENALTY COUNT

Ireland found themselves on the receiving end of an ever-increasing penalty count, with the referee quick to pull the men in green up on any encouragement beyond the gain-line. The likes of James Ryan and Jack Crowley were pinged for being offside, and Farrell acknowledged how it is quite the 'hot-bed' are for the match officials to crack down upon.

ANDY FARRELL: "The offside is the hot-bed isn't it for referees at this moment in time. To keep giving them another opportunity and another opportunity, when you're defending your own line pretty well,
gives them the territory and the field will factor that they're after.

"We converted our chances pretty well the last a couple of weeks ago. [Our] conversion rate in the 22 I thought we came up against a rock solid defence who kept knocking us back. We should have just been a little bit more patient at times, and I thought we'd get a reward from that.

"I think most of the credit of how that test match unfolded has to go to Wales, because I thought there was outstanding in the way that they went about the fight. It was a dogged test match, and that's how these type of test matches should be."

CAELAN DORIS SINGS THE PRAISES FOR PLAYER OF THE MATCH JACK CONAN

Ireland back row Jack Conan was bestowed with the Player of the Match award, following a stellar stand-out shift upon the blindside flank. The regular number eight was impressive upon his positional shift along the back row, with his Leinster teammate Caelan Doris delighted to see Conan excel in green.

CAELAN DORIS: "Unbelievable ball carry. I think that's probably his main strength. That's something I've always seen. Even going back when I was an academy player, I admired a lot of his ball playing ability is carrying. You saw that in spades today. I thought it was great.

"His handling for that second drive, yeah, scooped past it. Scooped that one up. I thought he was very good today. When he gets his hands on the ball, he always makes something happen for us."

"HE WAS ITCHING TO GET ON" - JOE MCCARTHY IMPRESSIVE OFF THE BENCH

Ireland lock Joe McCarthy was arguably the best performer from the bench for Andy Farrell's side, with the Leinster man quick to up the tempo with a starring shift from the substitiutes. The second row was heavily praised by his head coach, with Andy Farrell revealing that the towering lock was 'itching' to get back out on the grass at the Aviva Stadium. From a stand-out grubber kick to emptying the tank at the contact area, Farrell assessed McCarthy's efforts.

ANDY FARRELL: "He was on the sideline for a while with his coat off, he was itching to get on. You could see the spring in his step, when he got on. And he certainly made a difference. [He had] Some great highlights within the game, one of them Joe, going down the touch line and kicking the ball. You know, it's a big turning point, isn't it?

"For turning the game around as far as the territory is concerned. Probably another one would have been Robert Baloucoune's one handed pass out the back there, at that stage of the game, it was pretty special to watch."

"HE WAS EXCELLENT" - PLENTY OF PRAISE FOR NATHAN DOAK DEBUT AND JAMISON GIBSON-PARK'S 50TH CAP

There was plenty of pre-match excitement surrounding the selected scrum halves, as Jamison Gibson-Park ran out for his 50th cap, with Nathan Doak waiting on the bench for an international debut. The Ulster man arrived into the match sooner than expected as Doak replaced Gibson-Park for a first half blood injury. Farrell was delighted with both milestones for his halfbacks.

ANDY FARRELL: "We need to celebrate the fact that Nathan Doak's made his first cap. I think he's a fantastic story. For such a young lad, he's a lot of URC caps under his belt. I wouldn't say he's been patient, because he's been desperate to to get into the room, but once he's got into the room, I thought he was excellent when he came on for Jamison, When Jamison got a cut on the knee.

"I thought he [Doak] was really composed. And the same again, when he came on at the end, he was really composed. His kicking was excellent, and his passing was excellent as well. So he's done really well to perform like that on his debut, and he'll continue to compete, to stay in the room, I have no doubt. Obviously, Jamison's 50th. It's nice to get the win so that we can celebrate with them together."

BONUS: TRIPLE CROWN WIN WOULD BE 'SPECIAL' ON ST PATRICK'S WEEKEND

Next weekend marks a Triple Crown decider between Ireland and Scotland, with Andy Farrell's side set to host Gregor Townsend's men the weekend before St. Patrick's Day. With a sea of green set to flood through the Dublin streets, Farrell admitted how it would be special to end the 2026 Six Nations with silverware, as the best of the Home Nations.

ANDY FARRELL: "We need to make the best of the extra day as far as our recovery is concerned. Then we bounce into what's going to be a special week for us, playing against Scotland. They'll be relishing coming here, I'm sure. But, it doesn't get any bigger than next week for us."

"We should never take a triple crown for granted at all. If you look at some of the greats that's played for for our team, they [Triple Crown] come few and far between within a career. So, to be in a position to trying to perform, to get that over line, makes it a special week for us."