Niamh Gallagher hails Ireland's resolves in Wales win
Tries from Sophie Barrett, Robyn O'Connor, Hannah Clarke, Jemima Adams-Verling and Ellie O'Sullivan-Sexton were enough to ultimately seal the triumph for the team in green, but they did not have things all their own way at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly.
Ireland spent much of the opening 10 minutes inside their own 22 thanks to a period of early Welsh dominance.
Wales also twice got themselves within five points of their opponents, at 10-5 and 15-10, through scores from Savannah Picton-Powell and Seren Singleton.
Full time in Wales and it's an opening win for the @PwCIreland Ireland Women's U-20 in the @SixNationsU20 Summer Series 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/OdQmhUZL9B — Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) July 5, 2025
But after staving off a sustained assault on their tryline, Ireland responded by taking the lead midway through the first half when prop Barrett dived over off the back of a rolling maul.
And Gallagher, who played in Clarke for Ireland's third try during the second half, was delighted that their defensive efforts allowed them to kick-on towards victory.
'Getting a win to start the tournament is unbelievable, start as we mean to go on,' she said. 'There's so much more to see from us. It was a tough one, we were in our half for most of that game.
'We just thought we needed to get it out of our area and play up field. And then when we did get it up there, we showed them what we could do.'
Amidst the driving rain, the encounter proved to be a physical test for both sides, with neither team letting up in the tackle.
It was a gameplan Gallagher expected from her team's opponents and explained the importance of both forcing Wales into making errors, whilst keeping their own standards high.
'We knew that Wales were going to be a physical team,' she continued. 'We wanted to match that and make sure that we kept the ball and play on our terms.
'It was tough that Wales did stick to being dominant, but we knew we had to get up in their faces and try and make them make mistakes.
'We knew we had to be clinical in our own areas too and I think we were able to do that.'
Next up for Ireland is a clash against France, who also won their opening match beating Italy 46-5, and Gallagher believes her side have got the tools to more than put up a fight.
She added: 'We've got an excellent back three that we just want to get the ball out to.
'We're also getting there when it comes to securing our breakdowns which is good but of course, we can always look to improve our defence.'
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