Hugo Keenan said there was plenty of room for improvement after Ireland claimed a first Guinness Six Nations win at Principality Stadium since 2013.
A clinical first half saw Caelan Doris, James Ryan and James Lowe cross in the opening 25 minutes, with Johnny Sexton kicking 12 points from the tee to record their highest ever first-half tally at the home of Welsh rugby.
But a much-improved display from the hosts after the break led to an even contest, with Liam Williams’ try reducing arrears in the 44th minute before Josh van der Flier secured the bonus point for Ireland in the closing stages to leave it 34-10.
And despite Ireland’s consummate performance in the first period, Keenan admitted the second 40 will give Andy Farrell ample material for training sessions ahead of the visit of France next Saturday.
Guinness Six Nations Player of the Match Keenan said: “To be honest I think we probably slipped off in that second half, so there’s plenty to work on.
“We are just taking it game by game. We had not won here in 10 years so we’re just focusing on that, not getting caught up by anything else.
“It is a serious place to come and Wales put it up to us. They are in that transition phase, but they’re a serious side.”
“There is plenty in that second half to work on so we will regroup and review on Sunday and Monday. Big game next week again.”
But there was also plenty to smile about for the Leinster back, as the visitors sprinted out of the blocks with Doris dotting down after just 120 seconds.
“I think we came out and started well, which is really important. Obviously we have not won here in a good few years,” said Keenan.
“We knew the crowd would be behind them and it is always a tough place to go.
“But we are delighted to get that bonus point win to kick off the Six Nations. These are the occasions you want to be a part of, playing at Principality Stadium for the first time with a full crowd.”
Experienced flanker Peter O’Mahony agreed with Keenan’s assessment, recognising the drop in levels from one half to the next.
O’Mahony said: “Certainly the first 40 minutes we were flowing nicely. We started well with a very calm attack and defence was good.
“I think from a team performance it was certainly one of the better ones I’ve been involved in. Our set piece was very good, which is always going to be important, especially somewhere like the Principality.
“Especially in that first half, our line-out and scrum fired really well and gave us a great platform to get stuck in.
“We’ll go back and look at that second half, particularly the first 20 minutes of it. Wales put us under a huge amount of pressure and we conceded too many penalties.”
