Ireland celebrated captain Brian O'Driscoll's century of caps by cruising to a victory which leaves them one win away from claiming their fifth Triple Crown in seven seasons.
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Ireland 27-12 Wales
The win, underpinned by Keith Earls' try double and one from Tomas O'Leary, also kept alive an outside chance of a successful RBS 6 Nations title defence.
"Today is probably the exact opposite of Paris", head coach Declan Kidney told UTV after the match.
"In Paris our concentration went down in defence and it cost us. We weren't as clinical in attack. Today our concentration was up, so let's keep working on what's in our control."
"We'll enjoy the next hour or two, because there's only a seven-day turn around, and then we'll start our preparation again."
After the match, O'Driscoll hailed Ireland's "outstanding" defence.
"There's always room for improvement", he told UTV's Neil Brittain.
"But it's the first time in 20 years Wales haven't managed to score a try in Ireland, so it's obviously very pleasing", he said.
The skipper described his 100th cap as a "massive honour" and was delighted to have marked the milestone with a resounding victory.
"That was a different feeling, probably more emotional than I thought it would be," he said.
"It was a fantastic feeling and it's a massive, massive honour to have played for my country 100 times.
"The reception on the way out was an extra on winning the game."
Ireland fly-half Jonathan Sexton kicked three penalties and a late drop-goal, while opposite number Stephen Jones booted four penalties, but Wales once again paid a huge price for poor discipline.
The home side repeated England's feat last month by scoring two tries while Wales had a player in the sin bin.
At Twickenham it was lock Alun-Wyn Jones who cost his team dear, and this time full-back Lee Byrne's technical infringement opened the door for an Irish side that needed no second invitation.
Wales now find themselves in the wooden-spoon mix alongside Scotland and Italy heading into next weekend's final round of fixtures following three defeats from four starts.
Ireland will clinch the Triple Crown if they beat Scotland at Croke Park next Saturday.
Byrne was sin-binned for killing the ball just three minutes after a second Sexton penalty, and Ireland immediately made their temporary numerical advantage count.
The home side saw centre Gordon D'Arcy limp off but Earls - moved from wing to centre as Rob Kearney replaced D'Arcy - struck through a well-worked try.
A slick O'Driscoll pass gave him all the room he needed to manoeuvre himself outside Charteris' despairing lunge for a score that settled Irish nerves.
Although Sexton missed a simple conversion, Ireland were rapidly back on the attack, and with Byrne still watching from the sidelines, they struck another telling blow.
This time it was O'Connell who emerged with possession and he sent O'Leary sprinting unopposed through a disorganised Welsh defence.
Wales started the second period by camping inside Ireland's 22.
But Ireland thwarted Welsh ambitions by clearing the danger and then stormed upfield while O'Driscoll received treatment following a heavy collision.
Sexton's third successful penalty, awarded after Byrne threw the ball away, stretched Ireland's advantage to 13 points, before Earls' second try finished Wales off.
Wales boss Warren Gatland made five substitutions between the 57th and 67th minutes, but it made little difference to the overall picture as Ireland closed out a relatively comfortable afternoon's work through an effortless Sexton drop-goal.
Latest results:
Saturday 13 March 2010
- Ireland 27-12 Wales
- Scotland 15-15 England
Sunday 14 March 2010
Coming up:
Saturday 20 March 2010
- Wales v Italy, 2.30pm
- Ireland v Scotland, 5pm
- France v England, 7.45pm
RBS Six Nations Table| Position | Team | Points |
|---|
| 1 | France | 8 |
| 2 | Ireland | 6 |
| 3 | England | 5 |
| 4 | Wales | 2 |
| 5 | Italy | 2 |
| 6 | Scotland | 1 |
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