Our guide to Saturday's Guinness Six Nations clash between Ireland and Wales in Dublin includes team news, predictions, statistics and more.
What time is kick-off & what channel is it on?
The match, which takes place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, will start at 1415 GMT on Saturday February 8 and will be screened live on ITV and S4C.
Ireland v Wales: Team news
Ireland team: Larmour; Conway, Henshaw, Aki, Stockdale; Sexton, Murray; Healy, Herring, Furlong, Henderson, Ryan, O'Mahony, van der Flier, Stander.
Replacements: Kelleher, Kilcoyne, Porter, Toner, Deegan, Cooney, Byrne, Earls.
Wales team: Halfpenny; North, Tompkins, Parkes, Adams; Biggar, Williams; Jones, Owens, Lewis, Ball, Wyn Jones, Wainwright, Tipuric, Faletau.
Replacements: Elias, Carre, Brown, Beard, Moriarty, Davies, Williams, McNicholl.
Ireland v Wales: Odds and tips
Ireland began their Six Nations quest with a hard-fought victory over Scotland and are 8/15 to win again at home.
Wales, 11/8 for victory, are given a four-point handicap start by Sky Bet.
Tony Calvin preview: This is a tough game to call for someone who wasn’t sold on Wales’ win last week, especially as the changes both sides have made, forced or not, clearly don’t weaken their chances.
In fact, Wales look a more balanced unit with Nick Tompkins coming in at centre and George North returning to the wing.
I went through all the markets and I honestly couldn’t see a standout bet, though the draw at 22/1 is very fair and I would side with Wales with the start if pushed, given the weather forecast .
In fact, I will put up a minimum bet on the draw at 22s. A repeat of 2016 would be nice.
Ireland v Wales: Inside the camps
- Ireland coach Andy Farrell
"I don't think their egos are bruised (following Scotland performance). They can't wait to get back on the field.
"Training today was quick, it was intense, it was ferocious. We had a few things to fix as well and we'll make sure we do that.
"We're in a good place, we're brimming, ready for what we know is going to be a really, really tough game.
"We know that Wales are Grand Slam champions and semi-finalists at the World Cup and rightly so.
"They're being talked up as a great team. We know what's coming this week, we get excited by that as well."
- Wales back row Ross Moriarty on Saracens centre Nick Tompkins
"I was a bit nervous for (Nick Tompkins) with it being his first cap.
"You don't want anyone to make any mistakes or for it to get to them too much, but I thought that he looked very good.
"He injected a lovely bit of pace to finish off his try, and I don't think that he could have asked for a better start to his international career.
"Nick will take confidence from that, although we know that it will be a different sort of challenge in Ireland.
"I did (England) Under-18s with him first, and then in my second year with the 20s Nick was in. He was the same then - very agile, very fast, with great skills.
"It's nice to have him here. He is a good boy, and we have all welcomed him in."
Ireland v Wales: Recent meetings
2018 Six Nations: Ireland 37-27 Wales (Dublin)
2019 Six Nations: Wales 25-7 Ireland (Cardiff)
2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up match: Wales 17-22 Ireland (Cardiff)
2020 Rugby World Cup warm-up match: Ireland 19-10 Wales (Dublin)
Six Nations fixtures & results
Round One (February 1-2)
Round Two (February 8-9)
- Ireland v Wales, Saturday Feb 8, 2.15pm, Aviva Stadium, Dublin; ITV and S4C; Ref - Romain Poite (France)
- Scotland v England, Saturday Feb 8, 4.45pm, BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh; BBC; Ref - Pascal Gauzere (France)
- France v Italy, Sunday Feb 9, 3.00pm, Stade de France, Paris; BBC; Ref - Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Round Three (February 22-23)
- Italy v Scotland, Saturday Feb 22, 2.15pm, Stadio Olimpico, Rome; ITV: Ref - Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
- Wales v France, Saturday Feb 22, 4.45pm, Principality Stadium, Cardiff; BBC and S4C; Ref - Matt Carley (England)
- England v Ireland, Sunday Feb 23, 3.00pm, Twickenham, London; ITV; Ref - Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Round Four (March 7-8)
- Ireland v Italy, Saturday Mar 7, 2.15pm, Aviva Stadium, Dublin; BBC and S4C; Ref - Nic Berry (South Africa)
- England v Wales, Saturday Mar 7, 4.45pm, Twickenham, London; ITV; Ref - Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
- Scotland v France, Sunday Mar 8, 3.00pm, BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh; BBC; Ref - Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Round Five (March 14)
- Wales v Scotland, Saturday Mar 14, 2.15pm, Principality Stadium, Cardiff; BBC and S4C; Ref - Angus Gardner (Australia)
- Italy v England, Saturday Mar 14, 4.45pm, Stadio Olimpico, Rome; ITV; Ref - Pascal Gauzere (France)
- France v Ireland, Saturday Mar 14, 8.00pm, Stade de France, Paris; BBC; Ref - Wayne Barnes (England)
