'We stuck at it' - Andy Farrell pleased with resilient win

Andy Farrell praised his side's resilience as Ireland continued their winning start to the Guinness Six Nations with a 31-7 win against Wales at the Aviva Stadium.

The defending champions remain in the hunt for an unprecedented back-to-back Grand Slam as they picked up a third consecutive bonus-point victory thanks to tries from Dan Sheehan, James Lowe, Ciarán Frawley and Tadhg Beirne.

It's difficult to know whether the 24-point winning margin flattered Ireland or not.

While their discipline fell apart in the third quarter as they allowed Wales get a foothold in the contest, they were perhaps unlucky to only lead 17-0 after what had been an utterly dominant first 40 minutes.

And while Wales head coach Warren Gatland said he didn't believe the scoreline was a fair reflection on the contest, Farrell suggested his side should have been further ahead.

"It probably should have been 40 or 44-7, there were a couple of tries that were notched off there," the Ireland coach said as he looked back on some missed Irish chances.

"I thought we got what we deserved in the end. If the forward pass from Robbie [Henshaw] hadn't have been knocked off I thought that was going to be an unbelievable try, and again, it was finding a way to make inroads.

"I actually thought they [Wales] defended really well at times.

"It was hard to break down but to get the bonus-point win, 31-7, I thought we should have been further up in the first half to be fair, but I do understand that this is a young Welsh side that’s trying to gain experience as well, and I thought they played bloody tough, that’s for sure."

Farrell admitted to frustration that his side weren't further ahead at half time, having had 70% possession and 62% territory in the opening 40 minutes.

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