New Zealand-born winger James Lowe scored a try in his international rugby debut for Ireland, in a 32-9 win over Wales in their opening game of the Autumn Nations Cup.
Ireland's scrum exerted its dominance early on with Andrew Porter giving a crumpling Rhys Carre a torrid time to provide the platform for Quinn Roux to grab the opening try after 23 minutes and help Ireland to a worthy 16-6 halftime lead.
Wales could only briefly cut the deficit to seven points and last year's Six Nations grand slam winners and World Cup semi-finalists were well on the way to a sixth loss in a row when Ireland's Lowe got a deserved debut try.
The former Chiefs and Tasman star became eligible to represent Ireland after qualifying through residency earlier this month.
Andy Farrell's Ireland side may have to travel to England for what could be a Pool A decider next week without captain Johnny Sexton after their influential first-five left the game with less than half an hour on the clock due to a hamstring injury.
The result consigned Wales to their sixth straight defeat under Kiwi coach Wayne Pivac.
Reuters
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