Summary All the points came from penalties.
HOUSTON (AP) - The United States rued missing out on a first win over Ireland before a record home crowd as the Irish prevailed 15-12 late Saturday.
All the points came from penalties. Flyhalf Ian Madigan kicked over five and missed only his last one at the end, while U.S. fullback Chris Wyles nailed all four of his chances.
Madigan punished U.S. errors and a weaker scrum to run up a 12-6 halftime lead, and Ireland held on in the heat as the feisty Americans failed to finish off chances in front of a boisterous crowd of 20,181.
"It felt like we could have won that one," U.S. winger Takudzwa Ngwenya said. "It felt like we gave them too much respect. At the end it came to bite us in the butts."
Madigan gave Ireland a 6-0 start with penalties from a scrum and ruck. Then the penalties followed a familiar pattern: The Americans gave away technical penalties for Madigan, and drew fouls for Wyles from pressure on the Ireland tryline.
At 12-6, Ireland should have put the game away in the 50th when Fergus McFadden broke through with support but fullback Robbie Henshaw, one of two debut starters, dropped the last pass.
Madigan's fifth penalty success came after U.S. captain Todd Clever was sin-binned for a spear tackle on lock Devin Toner.
Wyles claimed his third penalty while Clever was away, and his fourth just after the captain returned to the field with about 15 minutes to go. But the scoring ended there.
"These are games that we're getting closer and closer in, and we need to win," Wyles said. "It's not just about competing for us. We want to win these games, and there's a bunch of guys in there who are bitterly disappointed."
Following Ireland's first win in five tests, first-time skipper Peter O'Mahony paid tribute to the five players who made their debut, three off the bench, and produced a win.
"The overall thing is we got a win away from home, it was a tough game, and we expected nothing less," O'Mahony said.
