Ireland got their third straight win of the 2024 Six Nations against Wales on Saturday afternoon, though it was a nervier affair than expected for Andy Farrell's side.
Tries from Dan Sheehan, James Lowe, Ciarán Frawley, and Tadhg Beirne did the job for Ireland, but Warren Gatland's inexperienced Wales put up a spirited fight which had Ireland looking somewhat nervy early in the second-half.
When Beirne was sent to the sin bin for causing a Welsh penalty try just after the break, it looked as though Ireland might have been in danger of losing control of the game.
Thankfully, Farrell's side weathered the storm but Brian O'Driscoll was nonetheless unimpressed with the Irish second half performance, and sounded a note of caution ahead of the trip to Twickenham in two weeks' time.
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Brian O'Driscoll was unimpressed with Ireland's performance v Wales
24 February 2024; Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, left, and Caelan Doris celebrate after the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and Wales at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Appearing as a pundit on ITV for Ireland v Wales on Saturday, Brian O'Driscoll praised the performance of the visitors to the Aviva Stadium - but said that Ireland had also underperformed.
He said that the 24-point margin had "flattered" Ireland and that they had been lucky to weather the storm of Beirne's sin bin:
It just shows what momentum is in sport. That yellow card two minutes into the second half, off the back of a penalty try, all of a sudden they [Wales] get some possession, they hold onto the ball, and it snowballs in a positive way.
I think from an Irish perspective, they will be disappointed in the second half. It was clunky, there was a bit of a grind.
But they did only conceded seven points. We keep going back to the quality of their defence, and it's delievered again.
That had the potential to be a horrow show for Wales. We were talking at half time, Wales were 17 points down, Ireland were starting to click, hold possession, hold territory.
A Warren Gatland Welsh team came out after half time and really put it to them. It's not a patronising piece - this is a very young, inexperienced team.
That scoreline does flatter Ireland a little bit. It was 17-7 and it was on the cusp. If Wales had scored, it might have been different.
Despite an uncharacteristic performance against Wales, Ireland remain on course to become the first team of the Six Nations era to complete back-to-back Grand Slams.
England at Twickenham and Scotland in Dublin stand between Farrell's side and that historic achievement and O'Driscoll was keen to stress that it was no foregone conclusion.
The 2009 Grand Slam-winning captain recalled his experience of pushing for Six Nations glory, and said that Twickenham would be the toughest test yet for Ireland:
The really hard one is the fourth one when you're looking for a Slam. They don't come much more challenging than England at Twickenham.
While we have a pretty good record there in recent times, England will be licking their lips with the prospect of us talking about Grand Slams and coming to their home. They're talking about trying to build a fortress - well, that's their biggest opportunity to showcase that fortress.
It's an enticing prospect and, even if Ireland will identify necessary improvements from their win over Wales, they will be firm favourites to see off England on March 9.
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