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Head-To-Head: Ireland v Wales

Head-To-Head: Ireland v Wales

James Lowe, a Six Nations debutant this weekend, drives through to score his first try for Ireland against Wales in the Autumn Nations Cup last November ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

A statistical preview of Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations first round match between Ireland and Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff (kick-off 3pm).

2021 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Sunday, February 7

WALES v IRELAND, Principality Stadium, 3pm (live Virgin Media One/BBC One/S4C/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra/BBC Radio Wales/IRFU Live Blog)

WALES: Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets); Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester), George North (Ospreys), Johnny Williams (Scarlets), Hallam Amos (Cardiff Blues); Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints), Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues); Wyn Jones (Scarlets), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Adam Beard (Ospreys), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (capt), Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Taulupe Faletau (Bath).

Replacements: Elliot Dee (Dragons), Rhodri Jones (Ospreys), Leon Brown (Dragons), Will Rowlands (Wasps), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Callum Sheedy (Bristol Bears), Nick Tompkins (Dragons).

IRELAND: Hugo Keenan (UCD/Leinster); Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Garry Ringrose (UCD/Leinster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), James Lowe (Leinster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Munster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster), Will Connors (UCD/Leinster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster), Billy Burns (Ulster), Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster).

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Television Match Official: Tom Foley (England)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 131
Wales Won – 69
Ireland Won – 55
Drawn – 7

Ireland v Wales – Results Since 2000:

2000: Wales won 23-19, Lansdowne Road
2001: Ireland won 36-6, Millennium Stadium
2002: Ireland won 54-10, Lansdowne Road
2003: Ireland won 25-24, Millennium Stadium; Ireland won 35-12, Lansdowne Road
2004: Ireland won 36-15, Lansdowne Road
2005: Wales won 32-20, Millennium Stadium
2006: Ireland won 31-5, Lansdowne Road
2007: Ireland won 19-9, Millennium Stadium
2008: Wales won 16-12, Croke Park
2009: Ireland won 17-15, Millennium Stadium
2010: Ireland won 27-12, Croke Park
2011: Wales won 19-13, Millennium Stadium; Wales won 22-10, Westpac Stadium
2012: Wales won 23-21, Aviva Stadium
2013: Ireland won 30-22, Millennium Stadium
2014: Ireland won 26-3, Aviva Stadium
2015: Wales won 23-16, Millennium Stadium; Ireland won 35-21, Millennium Stadium; Wales won 16-10, Aviva Stadium
2016: 16-16 draw, Aviva Stadium
2017: Wales won 22-9, Principality Stadium
2018: Ireland won 37-27, Aviva Stadium
2019: Wales won 25-7, Principality Stadium; Ireland won 22-17, Principality Stadium; Ireland won 19-10, Aviva Stadium
2020: Ireland won 24-14, Aviva Stadium; Ireland won 32-9, Aviva Stadium

Biggest Wins:

Wales: Points: 34-9, 1976 Five Nations; Margin: 29-0, 1907 Four Nations

Ireland: Points & Margin: 54-10, 2002 Six Nations

Individual Records In The Series:

Most Points In A Match: Wales 20 (Neil Jenkins 1998, Gareth Anscombe 2019); Ireland 22 (David Humphreys 2002)

Most Tries In A Match: Wales 3 (Johnnie Williams 1907, 1910; Bryn Williams 1920); Ireland 3 (Robert Montgomery 1887)

Most Appearances – Ireland v Wales:

18 – Rory Best
16 – Brian O’Driscoll
15 – Alun Wyn Jones, Jonathan Sexton
14 – Mike Gibson, Gethin Jenkins, Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara
13 – Keith Earls, Leigh Halfpenny, Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip, Rob Kearney, Conor Murray, George North, Donncha O’Callaghan, Justin Tipuric
12 – Ieuan Evans, Willie John McBride, Phil Orr

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v Wales:

113 – Neil Jenkins
108 – Jonathan Sexton
107 – Stephen Jones
100 – Ronan O’Gara
90 – Leigh Halfpenny
84 – David Humphreys
57 – Eric Elwood
54 – Phil Bennett
52 – Michael Kiernan

Top Try Scorers – Ireland v Wales:

8 – Johnnie Williams
7 – Brian O’Driscoll
6 – Gerald Davies, Ieuan Evans, Teddy Morgan
5 – Gareth Edwards
4 – Keith Earls, Rusty Gabe, Jacob Stockdale

Wales – Form Guide From Start Of The 2020 Six Nations:

Won 42-0 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Lost 24-14 v Ireland away (Six Nations)
Lost 27-23 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 33-30 v England away (Six Nations)
Lost 38-21 v France away (Autumn Test)
Lost 14-10 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Lost 32-9 v Ireland away (Autumn Nations Cup)
Won 18-0 v Georgia home (Autumn Nations Cup)
Lost 24-13 v England home (Autumn Nations Cup)
Won 38-18 v Italy home (Autumn Nations Cup)

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2020 Six Nations:

Won 18-14 v Scotland home (Six Nations)
Won 24-14 v Wales home (Six Nations)
Lost 24-12 v England away (Six Nations)
Won 50-17 v Italy home (Six Nations)
Lost 35-27 v France away (Six Nations)
Won 32-9 v Wales home (Autumn Nations Cup)
Lost 18-7 v England away (Autumn Nations Cup)
Won 23-10 v Georgia home (Autumn Nations Cup)
Won 31-16 v Scotland home (Autumn Nations Cup)

International Championship All-Time Records:

Points –
557 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
546 Jonny Wilkinson (England)
467 Stephen Jones (Wales)
431 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
413 Owen Farrell (England)
406 Neil Jenkins (Wales)
403 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
403 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
290 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
288 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)
270 David Humphreys (Ireland)
232 Paul Grayson (England)

Tries –
26 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
24 Ian Smith (Scotland)
22 Shane Williams (Wales)
20 George North (Wales)
18 Gareth Edwards (Wales)
18 Cyril Lowe (England)
18 Rory Underwood (England)

Caps –
69 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
65 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
64 Rory Best (Ireland)
63 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
59 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
56 Mike Gibson (Ireland)
56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
55 Ross Ford (Scotland)
54 John Hayes (Ireland)
54 Jason Leonard (England)
54 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
53 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
53 Willie John McBride (Ireland)
53 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
51 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
51 Paul O’Connell (Ireland)
51 Martyn Williams (Wales)
50 Stephen Jones (Wales)
50 Philippe Sella (France)
50 Rory Underwood (England)

Wales – Most-Capped Players:

143 Alun Wyn Jones
129 Gethin Jenkins
104 Stephen Jones
100 Gareth Thomas
100 Martyn Williams
98 George North
95 Adam Jones
94 Colin Charvis
94 Mike Phillips
94 Jamie Roberts
93 Leigh Halfpenny
92 Gareth Llewellyn

Wales – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1049 Neil Jenkins
917 Stephen Jones
764 Leigh Halfpenny
458 Dan Biggar
352 James Hook
304 Paul Thorburn
290 Shane Williams
211 Arwel Thomas
205 George North
200 Gareth Thomas
166 Phil Bennett
157 Ieuan Evans

Wales – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

58 Shane Williams
41 George North
40 Gareth Thomas
33 Ieuan Evans
22 Colin Charvis
20 Gerald Davies
20 Gareth Edwards
20 Tom Shanklin
18 Rhys Williams
17 Reggie Gibbs
17 Ken Jones
17 Johnny Williams

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
124 Rory Best
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
104 Cian Healy
98 Peter Stringer
95 Jamie Heaslip
95 Rob Kearney
95 Jonathan Sexton
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1083 Ronan O’Gara
860 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
195 Paddy Jackson
160 Keith Earls
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe
145 Denis Hickie

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
32 Keith Earls
30 Tommy Bowe
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
18 Jacob Stockdale
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Rob Kearney
16 Ronan O’Gara

World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:

1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
1000 Owen Farrell (969-England, 31-Lions)
992 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
865 Jonathan Sexton (860-Ireland, 5-Lions)
840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
813 Leigh Halfpenny (764-Wales, 49-Lions)

World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:

67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O’Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
46 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
43 George North (41-Wales, 2-Lions)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)

(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)

The ‘100 Caps’ Club:

152 Alun Wyn Jones (143-Wales, 9-Lions)
148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
142 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
141 Brian O’Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Stephen Moore (Australia)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
127 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
124 Rory Best (Ireland)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
124 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
122 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
122 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
121 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
119 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
117 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
116 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia)
115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
115 Paul O’Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Will Genia (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Sekope Kepu (Australia)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Catalin Fercu (Romania)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
108 Owen Franks (New Zealand)
107 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
106 Rob Simmons (Australia)
106 Ben Youngs (104-England, 2-Lions)
105 Michael Hooper (Australia)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Cian Healy (Ireland)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Victor Gresev (Russia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 George North (98-Wales, 3-Lions)
101 Jonathan Sexton (95-Ireland, 6-Lions)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania)
100 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
100 Andrei Garbuzov (Russia)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)
100 James Slipper (Australia)