Ireland and Wales collide in the second round of the RBS 6 Nations this afternoon (kick-off 2.30pm). You can follow all the action direct from the Aviva Stadium via our live blog.
RBS 6 Nations Preview: Ireland v Wales
Today’s match between Ireland and Wales will be the 120th meeting between the two sides in all competitions.
In the Championship, the two sides have met on 114 occasions. Wales have the upper hand over Ireland with 62 wins compared to Ireland’s 46. There have been six draws.
Last year’s meeting between the two sides at the Millennium Stadium finished 30-22 in favour of the men in green. It remains the last game Wales have lost in the Six Nations.
Ireland’s 58 home games against Wales have seen both sides win 27 with draws on four occasions. In their one previous meeting at the Aviva Stadium in 2012, Wales ran out 23-21 winners thanks to a 79th minute penalty from Leigh Halfpenny.
Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy will combine in the centre for the 30th time in the Championship.
It will be the 53rd Test that the record-breaking Leinster duo have featured in together. They first played together in the centre in the 36-15 win over Wales in February 2004.
Meanwhile, Cian Healy, Rory Best and Mike Ross will become the most-capped front row combination in the Championship’s history when they run out this afternoon.
They will overtake the previous record of 15 matches held by Wales and Pontypool front row stalwarts Bobby Windsor, Tony Faulkner and Graham Price, which has stood for just under 35 years.
For his second Six Nations game in charge, head coach Joe Schmidt has selected am Irish team that boasts 709 caps and has an average age of 29, compared to Wales’ 693 caps and average age of 27.
Wales – at 114kg per forward – have a slightly heavier starting pack than Ireland (113kg), with the hosts welcoming back captain Paul O’Connell after his chest infection.
We will have live text commentary direct from the Aviva Stadium so reach for your phone, plug in your laptop or turn on the PC and enjoy a flavour of the game live on IrishRugby.ie.
There will be full live text and score updates throughout the coverage, with our pre-match build-up getting underway at 2pm.
The game is being broadcast live on RTÉ Two and BBC One, with RTÉ Radio 1 providing live radio commentary. Details of the global broadcasts are available here.
You can feel part of the action on IrishRugby.ie with our live matchday coverage – Ireland’s second match of the 2014 Championship kicks off at 2.30pm.
Support Ireland on www.irishrugby.ie/facebook or search #IrlvWal on www.twitter.com/irfurugby.
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