Farrell praises Ireland's 'awesome' defence

DUBLIN : Ireland coach Andy Farrell praised his side's defence as being the best part of their game "by a country mile" on Saturday after they almost kept Wales scoreless in a very comfortable 29-7 Six Nations opening win.

Ireland had already secured a bonus point by the time they sloppily let Taine Basham in for a 75th minute consolation try. Up to that point the injury-hit reigning champions did not come close to crossing the Irish line.

"That was the most pleasing part of our performance. Our defence was awesome and it's something we really pride ourselves on. The best part of our game by a country mile is our defence," Farrell told a news conference.

"We're really pleased with certain aspects of our game but like all first games, there'll be things to work on."

Farrell also singled out Ireland's discipline and said it went beyond just conceding six penalties to Wales' 14 and included his side's "excellent" decision making, particularly in difficult, blustery conditions.

After losing the battle up front just as comprehensively as the penalty count, Wales coach Wayne Pivac and captain Dan Biggar said they must improve their discipline and physicality ahead of next week's visit of Scotland.

"We're better than that today and we know that we're better than that. There's not a huge amount to fix," Biggar said.

"Ultimately Ireland won too many physical collisions."

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Christian Radnedge)