Ireland lived up to their billing as pre-tournament favourites with an emphatic 34-10 bonus-point victory over Wales at the Principality Stadium in the opening game of the 2023 Six Nations.
The visitors, looking to go one better than last year when finishing second to France, led by 24 points at half-time and saw the job through despite dropping off for much of the second period.
Caelan Doris, James Ryan, James Lowe and Josh van der Flier all helped themselves to tries for Ireland, who will face a far sterner test when they host reigning champions France next weekend.
Returning head coach Warren Gatland saw Wales' numerous issues up close in his first game back in charge, with the Dragons now on a four-game losing run in the competition.
Conor Murray's quick pass allowed Doris to cross over inside two minutes and Ireland had a second try soon after when a short tap penalty culminated in Ryan muscling over.
Johnny Sexton's successful conversions had Ireland 14 points up, but Wales elected to take on a penalty – slotted home by Dan Biggar – instead of pushing for a first try.
Fly-half Sexton wasted no time in restoring Ireland's cushion from the boot, and Ireland were out of sight when Lowe anticipated Biggar's pass and charged 60 metres to score.
Having already kicked over the conversion, Sexton added three more points from another penalty, but Wales did at least show some sort of response early in the second half.
Liam Williams found a gap and dived under the posts soon after the restart, which Biggar converted to see the hosts enjoy a prolonged spell on top for the first time.
But Ireland, who were forced into a late line-up change when Jamison Gibson-Park was replaced by Murray, cruised to victory after Williams was sin-binned for a challenge on Sexton.
Andy Farrell's side put that man advantage to good use as, after wave after wave of attacks, Van der Flier dotted down between the posts to get the bonus points on the board.
Rare Irish win in Cardiff after lightning start
Doris' try with 119 seconds played was the third-quickest in a Six Nations match and set the tone for Ireland, whose 27-point half-time total was their highest ever in this fixture.
Ireland opted for defence over attack in the second half as they became the first away side to prevail in this fixture in 10 attempts, since they last did so in Cardiff in 2013.
Wales woes continue despite return of Warren
Gatland's return to the hot seat did not quite have the instant impact Wales fans would have hoped, with the Dragons having now lost four Six Nations games in a row.
Wales had previously won seven on the spin in the competition under Gatland, who returned to the role to replace Wayne Pivac in December, but already their title hopes are looking slim.
What's next?
Ireland have a huge showdown with France in Dublin next Saturday, with that potentially a showdown for the title. Wales travel to Scotland for their next outing in a week's time.
Sturm Graz 0-1 Club Brugge: Tzolis strike seals visitors' first win
Christos Tzolis scored the only goal as Club Brugge edged out Sturm Graz 1-0 for their first win in this season's Champions League.
The Greece international delivered the decisive blow in the 23rd minute at 28 Black Arena on Wednesday.
Both sides were seeking their first point in the competition, having recorded defeats on matchday one against Borussia Dortmund and Brest respectively.
Brugge broke through midway through the first half, as Tzolis controlled before firing in off the post from the edge of the penalty area.
The visitors went close to doubling their lead after the break, but Sturm Graz goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen came to the hosts' rescue with a series of fine saves.
Urged on by the home fans, Christian Ilzer's side went in search of an equaliser, but it did not arrive as Brugge held out for the points.
Data Debrief: Third time unlucky for Sturm Graz
Sturm Graz have now suffered four successive Champions League defeats for the third time in their history.
Meanwhile, the Austrian side have now lost their last four European matches against Belgian opposition without scoring.
By contrast, Brugge maintained their perfect record of three straight wins against Austrian opponents, while they have now kept four clean sheets in five Champions League away games - as many as in their previous 22.
Tzolis' strike came from one of three shots on target, becoming the first Brugge player to register that amount in a single Champions League game since Hans Vanaken did so against Paris Saint-Germain in September 2021.
RB Leipzig 2-3 Juventus: Ten-man Bianconeri claim improbable comeback win
Ten-man Juventus twice came from behind to stun RB Leipzig 3-2 on Wednesday as Francisco Conceicao's 83rd-minute strike contined the Serie A giants' winning start to their Champions League campaign.
Juve were reduced to 10 just before the hour mark when goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was sent off for a handball outside the box, having already lost captain Bremer and Nicolas Gonzalez to injury.
Benjamin Sesko, whose opener was cancelled out by Dusan Vlahovic prior to the red card, quickly restored Leipzig's lead from the penalty spot with his third European goal of the season.
But Vlahovic came to Juve's rescue again three minutes later, curling a left-footed effort into the top corner to level the game at 2-2.
And the unlikely turnaround was complete as Conceicao's fine finish gave the Bianconeri all three points in Germany.
While Juve have six points from six, wasteful Leipzig are still waiting to get off the mark, having been similarly frustrated late on against Atletico Madrid on matchday one.
Data Debrief: Joy for Juve's 10 men
It is not a record they will be proud of, but Juventus have had more goalkeepers sent off in the Champions League than any other club, with Di Gregorio the fourth.
But finally the Bianconeri managed to overcome that setback to earn a positive result. Previous examples had seen Angelo Peruzzi dismissed in a draw with Galatasaray and Edwin van der Sar sent off in a defeat to Panathinaikos, while Gianluigi Buffon's red card against Real Madrid came moments before Cristiano Ronaldo netted a decisive penalty in a two-legged quarter-final, despite Juve winning 3-1 on the night.
Buffon's moment of madness came in April 2018, and this was Juve's first Champions League win with 10 men since September of the same year against Valencia.
Liverpool 2-0 Bologna: Mac Allister and Salah strike as Slot's side stay perfect
Liverpool made it two wins from two in this season's Champions League following a 2-0 victory over Bologna at Anfield.
Alexis Mac Allister and Mohamed Salah were on target for Arne Slot's side, who maintained their perfect start to the league phase, having also beaten AC Milan 3-1 on matchday one.
The Reds broke through after just 11 minutes when Mac Allister timed his run perfectly to steer Salah's teasing cross beyond Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.
Liverpool thought they had doubled their lead six minutes later when Darwin Nunez fired home, only to be denied by the offside flag, while the woodwork thwarted Dan Ndoye at the other end.
The visitors looked to hit back after the break and went close in the 56th minute as Riccardo Orsolini forced a strong save from Alisson Becker, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday.
However, the hosts gave themselves breathing space - and eventually the three points - with a quarter of an hour remaining, when Salah brilliantly curled into Skorupski's far corner of the net.
Data Debrief: Salah makes more history as Reds continue to enjoy home comforts
In wrapping up the victory, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in five successive home Champions League games.
The Egyptian is also only the third player to achieve the feat for a Premier League side, following in the footsteps of Thierry Henry with Arsenal (seven) and Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy (six).
Also assisting Mac Allister's opener, Salah has now been directly involved in 14 goals (eight goals, six assists) in his last 11 home European appearances, as many as in his 20 previous such games.
It helped Liverpool record their 11th straight group/league win at Anfield in major European competition, while they have now scored at least twice in each of their last 10 such games.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
