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Outspoken Irish rugby pundit Neil Francis has lauded the Welsh back-row for their performance in Friday night’s Six Nations Championship victory over the Emerald Isle... but taken a dig at home centre Jonathan Davies, referee Wayne Barnes and the Welsh tactics of watering the Principality Stadium pitch before kick-off.

The former lock, who played 36-times for Ireland between 1987-96, wrote a powderkeg column in the Irish Independent on the eve of Friday night’s game labelling prop Tomas Francis ‘a crap player’, lock Jake Ball ‘a very average ‘second-row’ and No.8 Ross Moriarty ‘no sure-fire cert to get over the gain-line’.

He also believed Ireland could pull off a bonus-point victory in Cardiff to set up a winner-takes-all clash with 2016 Grand Slam champions England in Dublin next weekend.

But what he saw was Wales outscore Joe Schmidt’s men three tries to nil in a 22-9 victory and some 20 hours later Eddie Jones’ England were being crowned Six Nations champions after their 61-21 thumping of Scotland at Twickenham.

“Well, our dreams and aspirations of a Championship are six foot under in an overcoat of clay," said Francis in his Monday column for the Independent.

"In the face of another chastening defeat our lofty pretensions embarrass us all to the point of reappraisal. There does not seem to be any middle ground with Joe Schmidt’s teams,”

“They either all play well together or they all play badly together.

(Image: Huw Evans Agency)

“Ireland on Friday weren’t awful by any means and, like the Scotland game, had it within them to actually win the game.

“The frustration comes about from the fact that Ireland didn’t play at the level they projected to beat Wales and their inconsistencies told you once again that their mental preparation may have been good prior to kick-off but it dissipated as soon as they took to the field.

"A good start is only of value if you maintain it and take advantage of it.

“In a match such as Friday’s we are reminded that rugby union now more than anything else is a contact sport.

"Horses fall at hurdles and players through contact don’t survive the 80 minutes. You always assume that your key players will last the entire game.

"Wales won the game because their key players all played well and they all stayed on the paddock.

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“None of Ireland’s key influencers played at the level that you expect them to play at.

"Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray were off the park for different periods and while they were Ireland suffered a serious lack of control and they coughed up 15 points as a result of their impairment in play.

“Sexton’s yellow I thought was unfair. Wayne Barnes did not referee the breakdown all night and Justin Tipuric and Sam Warburton made very little effort to remove themselves from the tackle scene.

"Nor did they stick their arms in the air and pretend to wriggle their bodies back out of the ruck.

“Barnes is an experienced referee and would be familiar with the tackler being held down by the ball-carrier on the ground hoping for an easy yellow for preventing release near the try-line.

"It was easy to say that Sexton knew what he was doing but the fact is that he couldn’t move.

“Ten points in 10 minutes seems to be the average return at Test level for a player in the bin.

“Jonathan Davies also played a part in Sexton’s HIA — the knee to the head was accidental but Sexton had a shiner from the impact and eight-nine minutes on the sideline for the HIA.

"Davies was himself lucky not to get a yellow for sledging after Rory Best’s try was disallowed.

(Image: Huw Evans Agency)

"As soon as Barnes awarded a penalty to Wales, Davies came into the ruck and patted Best and Robbie Henshaw vigorously on their heads while they were on the ground and shouted something at them.

“The directive for this sort of behaviour is a reversal of penalty and on occasion a yellow. Well, I suppose it was last year’s directive . . .

“In an ultra-physical game, Wales had already targeted Murray when they saw him on the floor — they would have done so with profit until the match ended.

“The diminished presence of their highly influential halves is the only excuse that Ireland can offer. Ireland’s passing game is a long way off its sublime rendition in Chicago.

"The Welsh were entitled to water their pitch before the game — call it gamesmanship but it did seem to unsettle Joe Schmidt.

“Ireland managed to win all 22 of their lineouts in the French game. They got picked off three times and yet again it always seems to be the ones in the red zone where they lose it.

“Do they simply assume that just because they are close to the line that Wales won’t compete in the air — just wait for them to get back down on to the ground?

"Modern lineout play should be geared to be an unfair contest — never let your opponent have an opportunity to contest properly or evenly in the air with you.

“Alun Wyn Jones didn’t guess where the ball was going — he knew where it was going and that pick was a criminal dereliction of process by Ireland in the first quarter when Ireland needed to press home a relatively good start.

"Lazy thinking and sloppy execution!

“On a day when marginal calls for Lions places were settled — the Welsh back-row won the battle big time.

"Tipuric was the best player on the park and his intelligence and anticipation was key on and off the ground and in support of his runners.

"Warburton may have shaded the tackle count 21 to Tipuric’s 20 but it was the quality and the ferocity of Tipuric’s that made the difference.

“The Welsh back-row also played in concert, in unison, in tandem — whatever way you want to say it they played as a unit.

"I lost count of the number of times they tackled as a triumvirate on Ireland’s lone one-out runners. Somebody has to make a decision on Devin Toner’s ineffectual continued carrying of the ball.

“The Welsh resurrection will be a good model to learn from and I still have confidence that Ireland can take England next Saturday — even without watering the pitch!”