Wales Struggle in Ireland
Watch highlights as Aoife Wafer scores twice in Ireland's victory over Wales.
Following a record points haul against England in their previous match, Wales traveled to Ireland aiming to build on their recent performances in the Women's Six Nations.
However, the tournament's two-week break appeared to have a negative impact, as Wales delivered an uninspired performance in their 33-12 defeat.
Similar to their matches against Scotland and France, Wales remained competitive until half-time, but Ireland's third try proved decisive.
Wales should have entered the half-time break trailing 12-7, but a failure to clear the ball before the clock expired allowed Ireland one final attack.
"We speak about championship moments and that is one of them," said Wales captain Bethan Lewis.
"Putting ourselves on the back foot going into half-time, it's frustrating. We need to tighten up with things like that."
Dominance by Ireland in Second Half
In contrast to their second-half performance against England, where Wales scored two late tries to secure a bonus point, they were unable to generate much offense after the break in Belfast.
Ireland dominated possession and territory, with last year's player of the championship Aoife Wafer leading their efforts.
The only consolation for traveling Welsh fans was a try by Jasmine Joyce in the 78th minute, which was insufficient to prevent Wales from leaving without points.
"We're ranked 12th in the world, we played the team ranked 5th in the world and you can clearly see when you're away from home, you've got to be a lot more clinical," said Wales head coach Sean Lynn.
"We said in the huddle at the end of the game, we've got to be better with our composure and accuracy.
"I wouldn't have said the girls dropped their heads. They stuck at it, stuck to their processes, but Ireland kept the ball really well.
"The girls give everything out there and when you see them upset after the game it's because they care, they want to be winning, so it is tough."
Wales Seek to End Losing Streak
Wales are now enduring a nine-game tournament losing streak and face one final opportunity next Sunday to avoid a third consecutive wooden spoon in the Six Nations.
While a home match against Italy presents a target for victory, the Italians are confident after a strong performance, having followed a convincing win over Scotland with five tries in their defeat by England.
"We will come out firing. We're hurting. We do have more to give. There is a lot of learnings and hopefully we can put on a good show next week," said Lewis.
"The first two games at home were incredible. The support was incredible and having that red wall in the stand will give us energy."
