Matt Sherratt hails his Wales players’ ‘emotion and ambition’ despite defeat

The new interim Wales coach, Matt Sherratt, paid tribute to his players’ “emotion and ambition” after a heartening display in the

28-17 defeat by Ireland at the Principality Stadium

The 47-year-old Englishman, Cardiff’s full-time head coach, was appointed only last week and said he was pleased with the way his players had transferred his ideas on to the pitch. Wales led 18-10 in the second half before a Jamie Osborne try and three Sam Prendergast penalties for Ireland settled the contest.

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“We asked for two things: show the crowd some emotion and ambition,” Sherratt said. “And I think within [the playing] structure, which was important, we did that.”

Sherratt had four training sessions with his squad before their third match of the championship, after defeats by France – in which they did not score a point – and in Italy, where they scored just 15 points.

The dynamism and fluency of the Welsh attack in comparison with recent performances under Warren Gatland was clear from the start, as Jac Morgan and Tom Rogers tries helped to push Ireland all the way.

“I think we got a little bit more of the training week on to the field than I’d imagined,” Sherratt said. “Credit to the players. We’ve had really three days training, so to replicate what we did Tuesday‑Thursday, I was pretty pleased. It shows it’s a good group.”

Ellis Mee, the 21-year-old debutant Scarlets wing, was denied a potentially decisive late score for what the officials ruled was a knock-on. “That was a big moment,” Sherratt said. “A very tough call [for the officials]. You could tell that from the length of time it took.”

Asked if he will consider taking the Wales job full-time, Sherratt said he was “pretty certain on his next steps”, meaning a return to his permanent Cardiff role.

Simon Easterby, the interim Ireland head coach, said Garry Ringrose’s 20-minute red card for a first-half tackle on Ben Thomas would “possibly” have been a straight red card before the introduction of the current system. He also paid tribute to Sherratt.

“There’s been some really poor media talk around Wales and the state of the game,” Easterby said. “We knew they’d be tough opposition. We knew they would play with passion.

“They have the ability to play well with ball in hand, they made us work really hard, so Matt’s done a brilliant job. We knew the game would be a lot tougher than some in the media suggested.”

Of Ireland’s flawless campaign, with France in Dublin up next, Easterby said – “I think we’d have taken this a few weeks back” – only natural given they have three wins from three. “But I think the mark of this group is always wanting to get better.”