IN THE aftermath of England's embarrassing early exit from the Cricket World Cup coach Peter Moores, to guffaws, pledged that he would go away and analyse the data. Had he been at the Millennium Stadium then his socks would have been blown off with one glance of the post-match information sheet.

Stats never tell the whole story but the figures from their stunning 23-19 win against Ireland confirmed the intangibles seen by the naked eye, that Wales have incredible character, hunger, bravery, resilient and spirit.

There is some contention over the tackle count in but their tally, whether the 289 that was provided immediately after the match or the 250 that it later became, was more than their combined total against the All Blacks and Springboks last autumn while they took the spoils despite having 25 per cent of possession and 24 per cent of territory in the second half.

Lock Luke Charteris put in a Six Nations record 31 tackles while Sean O'Brien and Rory Best topped the Irish tally with 11 – the former Dragons man made that many in the third quarter.

The spell just before the hour was quite remarkable with the hosts somehow standing firm against a quality Irish side before making the most of their escape to strike the telling blow through centre Scott Williams.

It was a period, 32 phases and then 13, to show the progress made by Wales in this campaign. After the England game assistant coach Rob Howley had lamented their failure to deal with the "white wave".

This time there was no erosion despite wave after green wave; there was no kick in the groyne thanks to the Welsh defensive system doing its job.

Twice this season Sam Warburton & Co have stood up to a physical assault from a leading World Cup contender; in November the Springboks, second in the global rankings, failed to barge their way through and on Saturday the Irish, third, could not manage it either (albeit their driving lineout did eventually earn a penalty try).

However, it would be prudent to offer a word of caution – Wales cannot give New Zealand, or Australia for that matter, such territorial dominance and expect to stand firm.

Warren Gatland was keen to stress before the tournament that he was looking at the big picture in World Cup year and Saturday was the stuff of dreams for coaches.

Come September both he and Joe Schmidt, whose side will face France in Cardiff, will reap the benefits of a tense, thrilling encounter.

This was classic Six Nations fare and pity those that had post-match gripes about the quality of the encounter. If you didn't enjoy or appreciate Saturday then this really isn't your sport.

It was brutal and while there was still plenty of kicking it wasn't the turgid affair that we had feared.

Wales made a blistering start to go 12-0 up through a quartet of Leigh Halfpenny penalties only for their initial promise to stall after lengthy treatment for tighthead Samson Lee, who will be a huge loss if the blow to his left Achilles is as bad is feared.

Ireland gathered themselves and inched back into the game through a pair of penalties by the off-colour Johnny Sexton, the second seeing captain Sam Warburton blot his otherwise immaculate copybook by getting yellow-carded for a breakdown offence.

A Dan Biggar drop goal was followed by another Sexton penalty and it was 15-9 at the break before the incredible second half.

It took stunning Welsh defence to repel a brutal 32-phases attack and then a cracking Jamie Roberts tackle to deny Tommy Bowe before Ireland went off their feet at a ruck to prompt a cheer to rival that followed Shane Williams' famous winner against Scotland.

Unlike against England, Wales managed to change the flow and, after Biggar had found touch inside the Irish 22 rather than Halfpenny on the left wing, struck through replacement centre Scott Williams after Charteris had stolen a lineout.

Halfpenny missed the conversion and the Irish at 20-9 set about attempting to save their Grand Slam.

Dunderheaded attack wasted a huge overlap on the right while Jared Payne and Bowe were waving at their forwards but a penalty was kicked the corner to earn a seven-pointer with 11 minutes left after Wales dragged down the driving lineout.

Halfpenny killed the Grand Slam dreams with a penalty but a draw was still a possibility in the closing stages.

Jonathan Davies was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on to set up the men in green for another driving lineout with two minutes left. It was fitting that Charteris stole the first and then got in the thick of the second to secure the spoils.

Wales will head to Rome with a shot at the Six Nations title but a fabulous victory against a confident and quality Ireland side is arguably more important than silverware in World Cup year.

Wales: L Halfpenny, G North, J Davies, J Roberts (S Williams 59), L Williams, D Biggar, R Webb (M Phillips 68), G Jenkins (R Evans 40), S Baldwin (R Hibbard 56-78), S Lee (A Jarvis 12), L Charteris, A W Jones (J Ball 71), D Lydiate (J Tipuric 68), S Warburton (captain), T Faletau.

Scorers: try – S Williams; penalties – L Halfpenny (5); drop goal – D Biggar

Ireland: R Kearney, T Bowe, J Payne, R Henshaw, S Zebo, J Sexton (I Madigan 75), C Murray (E Reddan 62), J McGrath (C Healy 56), R Best (S Cronin 62), M Ross (M Moore 62), D Toner (I Henderson 62), P O'Connell (captain), P O'Mahony, S O'Brien, J Heaslip (J Murphy 71).

Scorers: try – penalty; conversion – Sexton; penalties – Sexton (3)

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Attendance: 73,950