Head-To-Head: Ireland v Wales

A statistical preview of this afternoon’s eagerly-awaited Guinness Six Nations encounter between Ireland and reigning champions Wales at the Aviva Stadium (kick-off 2.15pm).

2020 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, February 8

IRELAND (3rd) v WALES (1st), Aviva Stadium, 2.15pm (live Virgin Media One/UTV/ITV/RTÉ Radio 1/BBC Radio Ulster/S4C/FR2/DMAX/NBC/IRFU Live Blog)

IRELAND: Jordan Larmour (St. Mary’s College/Leinster); Andrew Conway (Garryowen/Munster), Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Leinster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster) (capt), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster), Tadhg Furlong (Clontarf/Leinster), Iain Henderson (Academy/Ulster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Josh van der Flier (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).

Replacements: Ronan Kelleher (Lansdowne/Leinster), Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster), John Cooney (Terenure College/Ulster), Ross Byrne (UCD/Leinster), Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster).

WALES: Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets); George North (Ospreys), Nick Tompkins (Saracens), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets), Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues); Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints), Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues); Wyn Jones (Scarlets), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (capt), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Taulupe Faletau (Bath).

Replacements: Ryan Elias (Scarlets), Rhys Carre (Saracens), Leon Brown (Dragons), Adam Beard (Ospreys), Ross Moriarty (Dragons), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Owen Williams (Gloucester), Johnny McNicholl (Scarlets).

Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Television Match Official: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Head-To-Head:

Played – 129
Ireland Won – 53
Wales Won – 69
Drawn – 7

Ireland v Wales – Results Since 2000:

2000: Wales won 23-19, Lansdowne Road
2001: Ireland won 36-6, Millennium Stadium
2002: Ireland won 54-10, Lansdowne Road
2003: Ireland won 25-24, Millennium Stadium; Ireland won 35-12, Lansdowne Road
2004: Ireland won 36-15, Lansdowne Road
2005: Wales won 32-20, Millennium Stadium
2006: Ireland won 31-5, Lansdowne Road
2007: Ireland won 19-9, Millennium Stadium
2008: Wales won 16-12, Croke Park
2009: Ireland won 17-15, Millennium Stadium
2010: Ireland won 27-12, Croke Park
2011: Wales won 19-13, Millennium Stadium; Wales won 22-10, Westpac Stadium
2012: Wales won 23-21, Aviva Stadium
2013: Ireland won 30-22, Millennium Stadium
2014: Ireland won 26-3, Aviva Stadium
2015: Wales won 23-16, Millennium Stadium; Ireland won 35-21, Millennium Stadium; Wales won 16-10, Aviva Stadium
2016: 16-16 draw, Aviva Stadium
2017: Wales won 22-9, Principality Stadium
2018: Ireland won 37-27, Aviva Stadium
2019: Wales won 25-7, Principality Stadium; Ireland won 22-17, Principality Stadium; Ireland won 19-10, Aviva Stadium

Biggest Wins:

Ireland: Points & Margin: 54-10, 2002 Six Nations

Wales: Points: 34-9, 1976 Five Nations; Margin: 29-0, 1907 Four Nations

Individual Records In The Series:

Most Points In A Match: Ireland 22 (David Humphreys 2002); Wales 20 (Neil Jenkins 1998, Gareth Anscombe 2019)

Most Tries In A Match: Ireland 3 (Robert Montgomery 1887); Wales 3 (Johnnie Williams 1907, 1910; Bryn Williams 1920)

Most Appearances – Ireland v Wales:

18 – Rory Best
16 – Brian O’Driscoll
14 – Mike Gibson, Gethin Jenkins, Paul O’Connell, Ronan O’Gara
13 – Jamie Heaslip, Alun Wyn Jones, Rob Kearney, Donncha O’Callaghan, Jonathan Sexton
12 – Ieuan Evans, Willie John McBride, Phil Orr
11 – Billy Bancroft, Gordon D’Arcy, Keith Earls, Leigh Halfpenny, John Hayes, Cian Healy, Robert Jones, Stephen Jones, Moss Keane, Donal Lenihan, Brendan Mullin, Conor Murray, George North, Jamie Roberts, Fergus Slattery, Peter Stringer, Justin Tipuric

Top Points Scorers – Ireland v Wales:

113 – Neil Jenkins
107 – Stephen Jones
100 – Ronan O’Gara
96 – Jonathan Sexton
84 – David Humphreys
79 – Leigh Halfpenny
57 – Eric Elwood
54 – Phil Bennett
52 – Michael Kiernan

Top Try Scorers – Ireland v Wales:

8 – Johnnie Williams
7 – Brian O’Driscoll
6 – Gerald Davies, Ieuan Evans, Teddy Morgan
5 – Gareth Edwards
4 – Keith Earls, Rusty Gabe, Jacob Stockdale

Ireland – Form Guide From Start Of The 2019 Six Nations:

Lost 32-20 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 22-13 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 26-16 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 26-14 v France home (Six Nations)
Lost 25-7 v Wales away (Six Nations)
Won 29-10 v Italy home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Lost 57-15 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 22-17 v Wales away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 19-10 v Wales home (GUINNESS Summer Series)
Won 27-3 v Scotland neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 19-12 v Japan away (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 35-0 v Russia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Won 47-5 v Samoa neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool A)
Lost 46-14 v New Zealand neutral (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final)
Won 18-14 v Scotland home (Six Nations)

Wales – Form Guide From Start Of The 2019 Six Nations:

Won 24-19 v France away (Six Nations)
Won 26-15 v Italy away (Six Nations)
Won 21-13 v England home (Six Nations)
Won 18-11 v Scotland away (Six Nations)
Won 25-7 v Ireland home (Six Nations)
Lost 33-19 v England away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 13-6 v England home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 22-17 v Ireland home (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Lost 19-10 v Ireland away (Rugby World Cup Warm-Up)
Won 43-14 v Georgia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool D)
Won 29-25 v Australia neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool D)
Won 29-17 v Fiji neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool D)
Won 35-13 v Uruguay neutral (Rugby World Cup Pool D)
Won 20-19 v France neutral (Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final)
Lost 19-16 v South Africa neutral (Rugby World Cup Semi-Final)
Lost 40-17 v New Zealand neutral (Rugby World Cup Bronze Final)
Won 42-0 v Italy home (Six Nations)

International Championship All-Time Records:

Points –
557 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
546 Jonny Wilkinson (England)
467 Stephen Jones (Wales)
407 Owen Farrell (England)
406 Neil Jenkins (Wales)
403 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
399 Jonathan Sexton (Ireland)
392 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
290 Greig Laidlaw (Scotland)
288 Gavin Hastings (Scotland)
270 David Humphreys (Ireland)
232 Paul Grayson (England)

Tries –
26 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
24 Ian Smith (Scotland)
22 Shane Williams (Wales)
20 George North (Wales)
18 Gareth Edwards (Wales)
18 Cyril Lowe (England)
18 Rory Underwood (England)

Caps –
69 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
65 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland)
64 Rory Best (Ireland)
63 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
60 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
56 Mike Gibson (Ireland)
56 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
55 Ross Ford (Scotland)
54 John Hayes (Ireland)
54 Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)
54 Jason Leonard (England)
53 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
53 Willie John McBride (Ireland)
53 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
53 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
51 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
51 Paul O’Connell (Ireland)
51 Martyn Williams (Wales)
50 Stephen Jones (Wales)
50 Philippe Sella (France)
50 Rory Underwood (England)

Ireland – Most-Capped Players:

133 Brian O’Driscoll
128 Ronan O’Gara
124 Rory Best
108 Paul O’Connell
105 John Hayes
98 Peter Stringer
96 Cian Healy
95 Jamie Heaslip
95 Rob Kearney
94 Donncha O’Callaghan
92 Malcolm O’Kelly
89 Jonathan Sexton
82 Gordon D’Arcy
82 Girvan Dempsey
82 Keith Earls
79 Conor Murray
72 Sean Cronin
72 David Humphreys
72 Geordan Murphy
72 David Wallace
71 Eoin Reddan
70 Kevin Maggs
70 Andrew Trimble
69 Tommy Bowe
69 Mike Gibson
68 Devin Toner

Ireland – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1083 Ronan O’Gara
810 Jonathan Sexton
560 David Humphreys
308 Michael Kiernan
296 Eric Elwood
245 Brian O’Driscoll
217 Ollie Campbell
195 Paddy Jackson
158 Tom Kiernan
150 Tommy Bowe
150 Keith Earls
145 Denis Hickie

Ireland – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

46 Brian O’Driscoll
30 Tommy Bowe
30 Keith Earls
29 Denis Hickie
21 Shane Horgan
19 Girvan Dempsey
18 Geordan Murphy
17 Brendan Mullin
17 Andrew Trimble
16 Rob Kearney
16 Ronan O’Gara
16 Jacob Stockdale
15 Kevin Maggs
15 Keith Wood
14 Conor Murray
14 George Stephenson
13 Jamie Heaslip
13 Jonathan Sexton
12 Rory Best
12 Keith Crossan
12 David Wallace
11 Alan Duggan
11 Simon Geoghegan

Wales – Most-Capped Players:

135 Alun Wyn Jones
129 Gethin Jenkins
104 Stephen Jones
100 Gareth Thomas
100 Martyn Williams
95 Adam Jones
94 Colin Charvis
94 Mike Phillips
94 Jamie Roberts
92 Gareth Llewellyn
92 George North
87 Neil Jenkins
87 Shane Williams
86 Leigh Halfpenny
81 James Hook
80 Dan Biggar
76 Dwayne Peel
75 Jonathan Davies
75 Ryan Jones

Wales – All-Time Leading Points Scorers:

1049 Neil Jenkins
917 Stephen Jones
737 Leigh Halfpenny
405 Dan Biggar
352 James Hook
304 Paul Thorburn
290 Shane Williams
211 Arwel Thomas
200 George North
200 Gareth Thomas

Wales – All-Time Leading Try Scorers:

58 Shane Williams
40 George North
40 Gareth Thomas
33 Ieuan Evans
22 Colin Charvis
20 Gerald Davies
20 Gareth Edwards
20 Tom Shanklin

World Rugby All-Time Top Points Scorers:

1598 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
1246 Jonny Wilkinson (1179-England, 67-Lions)
1090 Neil Jenkins (1049-Wales, 41-Lions)
1083 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
1010 Diego Dominguez (27-Argentina, 983-Italy)
970 Stephen Jones (917-Wales, 53-Lions)
967 Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
964 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
911 Owen Farrell (England)
911 Michael Lynagh (Australia)
893 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
878 Matt Burke (Australia)
840 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
815 Jonathan Sexton (810-Ireland, 5-Lions)
809 Chris Paterson (Scotland)

World Rugby All-Time Top Try Scorers:

67 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
64 David Campese (Australia)
60 Shane Williams (58-Wales, 2-Lions)
50 Rory Underwood (49-England, 1-Lions)
49 Doug Howlett (New Zealand)
47 Brian O’Driscoll (46-Ireland, 1-Lions)
46 Christian Cullen (New Zealand)
46 Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand)
46 Julian Savea (New Zealand)
44 Jeff Wilson (New Zealand)
42 George North (40-Wales, 2-Lions)
41 Gareth Thomas (40-Wales, 1-Lions)
40 Chris Latham (Australia)

(Note: Daisuke Ohata scored 69 tries for Japan, but not all against major international opposition)

The ‘100 Caps’ Club:

148 Richie McCaw (New Zealand)
144 Alun Wyn Jones (135-Wales, 9-Lions)
142 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
141 Brian O’Driscoll (133-Ireland, 8-Lions)
139 George Gregan (Australia)
134 Gethin Jenkins (129-Wales, 5-Lions)
132 Keven Mealamu (New Zealand)
130 Ronan O’Gara (128-Ireland, 2-Lions)
129 Stephen Moore (Australia)
127 Victor Matfield (South Africa)
127 Kieran Read (New Zealand)
124 Rory Best (Ireland)
124 Bryan Habana (South Africa)
121 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia)
121 Florin Vlaicu (Romania)
120 Davit Kacharava (Georgia)
119 Martin Castrogiovanni (Italy)
119 Jason Leonard (114-England, 5-Lions)
118 Fabien Pelous (France)
118 Tony Woodcock (New Zealand)
118 Alessandro Zanni (Italy)
117 Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa)
117 Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
116 Nathan Sharpe (Australia)
115 Merab Kvirikashvili (Georgia)
115 Paul O’Connell (108-Ireland, 7-Lions)
113 Yuri Kushnarev (Russia)
112 Marco Bortolami (Italy)
112 Dan Carter (New Zealand)
111 Ross Ford (110-Scotland, 1-Lions)
111 Philippe Sella (France)
111 John Smit (South Africa)
111 George Smith (Australia)
110 Will Genia (Australia)
110 Stephen Jones (104-Wales, 6-Lions)
110 Sekope Kepu (Australia)
109 Jean de Villiers (South Africa)
109 Chris Paterson (Scotland)
108 Catalin Fercu (Romania)
108 Owen Franks (New Zealand)
107 John Hayes (105-Ireland, 2-Lions)
106 Mauro Bergamasco (Italy)
105 Sean Lamont (Scotland)
104 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)
104 Martyn Williams (100-Wales, 4-Lions)
103 Matt Giteau (Australia)
103 Andrea Lo Cicero (Italy)
103 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)
103 Gareth Thomas (100-Wales, 3-Lions)
102 Stephen Larkham (Australia)
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa)
101 David Campese (Australia)
101 Giorgi Chkhaidze (Georgia)
101 Alessandro Troncon (Italy)
101 Goncalo Uva (Portugal)
101 Vasco Uva (Portugal)
100 Valentin Calafeteanu (Romania)
100 Victor Gresev (Russia)
100 Jamie Heaslip (95-Ireland, 5-Lions)
100 Adam Jones (95-Wales, 5-Lions)
100 Mils Muliaina (New Zealand)
100 Rob Simmons (Australia)