Ireland have a proud unbeaten NatWest 6 Nations record to protect when Wales come to town this weekend, with exciting youngsters Andrew Porter, James Ryan and Chris Farrell all stepping up as starters. They are without a loss in 12 Championship matches in Dublin, stretching back to 2013.
2018 NATWEST 6 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: Saturday, February 24
IRELAND (1st) v WALES (3rd), Aviva Stadium, 2.15pm (live TV3/UTV/ITV/S4C/FR2/DMAX/NBC/RTÉ Radio 1/IRFU Live Blog)
Team News: Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has made five changes for Saturday’s NatWest 6 Nations match against Wales at the Aviva Stadium, as his side look to make it three wins out of three in the Championship.
Andrew Porter replaces the injured Tadhg Furlong (hamstring) for his first Six Nations start at tighthead, while Championship debutant Chris Farrell takes the place of shoulder injury victim Robbie Henshaw, reforming his centre partnership with Bundee Aki from last November’s win over Argentina.
Iain Henderson, who has tightness in his quad and hamstring, is ruled out, so James Ryan will make his second Six Nations start alongside Devin Toner in an all-Leinster second row, and there are straight swaps at loosehead prop and number 8 where Cian Healy and CJ Stander both start.
Combining with Porter and Healy in the front row is captain Rory Best who will become Ireland’s most-capped forward of all-time on Saturday. It will be the Ulster hooker’s 109th appearance for his country, moving him ahead of former skipper Paul O’Connell (108), with only Ronan O’Gara (128) and Brian O’Driscoll (133) now ahead of Best.
Fresh from his first Six Nations start against Italy a fortnight ago, Dan Leavy continues at openside flanker with Munster captain Peter O’Mahony completing the back row. Ryan, Porter and Leavy are aged 21, 22 and 23 respectively.
An unchanged back-three includes Rob Kearney at full-back and Keith Earls and Jacob Stockdale on the wings, with the latter pair scoring three of Ireland’s eight tries against Italy. Farrell, who started against Fiji and Argentina during the 2017 GUINNESS Series, and Aki will have experienced half-backs Jonathan Sexton and Conor Murray alongside them.
Jack McGrath and Jack Conan drop back to the replacements bench, joining Sean Cronin, Quinn Roux, Kieran Marmion and Joey Carbery who all got game-time against Italy. Munster’s John Ryan will provide cover at tighthead, while versatile back Fergus McFadden reclaims the number 23 jersey.
Talking about the team selection, Schmidt said: “Iain was very close, he could definitely play next weekend, and the week after he will be fine. Tadhg was close as well. We thought on Tuesday with Tadhg he may well make it, but the progress just stalled a little bit so we said let’s not chase this, let’s focus on the opportunity for other people and get you right for Scotland in a couple of weeks’ time.
“They are world class players, you don’t suddenly replace world class players, but we’re a lot more focused on who we do have. Who we do have is Andrew Porter who is a really promising young player that we’re excited about, and James Ryan likewise.
“We’re short on experience and we’re up against a team welcoming back three Lions while we see three disappear. So yes that’s not ideal, but at the same time, if you want to learn, what better environment than a really white-hot atmosphere in the Aviva on Saturday.
“After just over three minutes against Italy, Andrew had to come on to replace Tadhg and did a sterling job, for 76-and-a-half minutes. So he acquitted himself really well, I know it’s not the same level – Rob Evans is a tricky customer, the angles and stepping around, all those will be really good learning experiences for Andrew Porter.
“And they’ve got to learn somewhere and this is a really good opportunity for him. We are ready to test the strength of our squad, we’re always ready to test the strength of our squad, and we would like to think that is as seamless as possible. The forward pack still have just as much enthusiasm for what they need to roll their sleeves up and get ready for on Saturday.”
He added: “I’ve been talking to Chris Farrell for three of four years, he’s been a long-term project, and I thought he did really well against Argentina in only his second Test. He kinda found his feet a bit against Fiji.
“I thought he was really good against Argentina and I think he showed there’s a bit more to Chris Farrell than a bludgeon – nice soft skills and a tight pass, he’s got a good length in his pass. He’s actually got pretty good kicking skills.
“I thought his defensive acumen on the day against an Argentinian team with the likes of (Joaquin) Tuculet coming into the back-line, just outside that midfield area, where he’s kind of in the midfield and then looking to get out to those sort of guys, I thought he closed the space down really well. They’d be probably some of the things that we’d volunteer as the strengths we see with Chris.”
Meanwhile, Wales have made three changes to their team to face Ireland, with the British & Irish Lions trio of Dan Biggar, Liam Williams and Leigh Halfpenny all returning to the side.
Biggar has recovered from a shoulder injury to make his 61st appearance for his country and will line up alongside Gareth Davies at half-back. Halfpenny and Williams join Steff Evans in the back-three, with Hadleigh Parkes and Scott Williams continuing their centre partnership.
Wales have named an unchanged pack for the trip to Dublin. The all-Scarlets front row of Rob Evans, Ken Owens and Samson Lee feature for a third consecutive game. Cory Hill partners captain Alun Wyn Jones in the second row with Aaron Shingler, Josh Navidi and Ross Moriarty making up the back row.
“It is great to be able to bring so much experience back into the starting XV and into the back-line,” said head coach Warren Gatland, who will take charge of Wales for the 100th time. “It is the first week we have had everyone in the ‘green’ in terms of availability which is a nice luxury to have and a positive ahead of what is a very important Test match against a very good Ireland side.
“We have been pleased with the depth we have developed in the back-three and pleased with how those players have gone but having the experience of Dan, Liam and Leigh coming back in is hugely important.
“We have been pleased with how the forward pack has been going and how they have worked as a unit but as always there is pressure for them to perform too.”
Elliot Dee, Wyn Jones and Tomas Francis are named as the front row replacements with Bradley Davies and Justin Tipuric completing the forward contingent. Aled Davies, Gareth Anscombe and George North provide the back-line cover.
NatWest 6 Nations Results/Fixtures
IRELAND: Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster); Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster), Chris Farrell (Young Munster/Munster), Bundee Aki (Galwegians/Connacht), Jacob Stockdale (Ballynahinch/Ulster); Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster); Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster) (capt), Andrew Porter (UCD/Leinster), James Ryan (UCD/Leinster), Devin Toner (Lansdowne/Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster), Dan Leavy (UCD/Leinster), CJ Stander (Shannon/Munster).
Replacements: Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), Jack McGrath (St. Mary’s College/Leinster), John Ryan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Quinn Roux (Galwegians/Connacht), Jack Conan (Old Belvedere/Leinster), Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht), Joey Carbery (Clontarf/Leinster), Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster).
WALES: Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets); Liam Williams (Saracens), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets), Steff Evans (Scarlets); Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Gareth Davies (Scarlets); Rob Evans (Scarlets), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Cory Hill (Dragons), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (capt), Aaron Shingler (Scarlets), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Ross Moriarty (Gloucester).
Replacements: Elliot Dee (Dragons), Wyn Jones (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Bradley Davies (Ospreys), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Aled Davies (Scarlets), Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), George North (Northampton Saints).
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees: Pascal Gaüzère (France), Matthew Carley (England)
Television Match Official: Rowan Kitt (England)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ireland to win: 4/11; Draw: 20/1; Wales to win: 5/2
Pre-Match Quotes: Rory Best (Ireland) – “I think there’s no doubt and you can see it in the way Wales have evolved in the last couple of years, that Warren is adaptable. To stay for 100 Tests at this level is a fantastic feat, and I think we’re very quick to praise players when it happens, so for a coach to be around long enough to do that is a brilliant achievement.
“And hopefully he can get a win in his 101st game to celebrate that! He’s very prepared. And when he speaks to you as a squad he references back to when he played, and he didn’t want to be out on the pitch for long periods of time. As a player you want sessions to be short, you want to feel you’ve got something from it, and that’s the way he coaches.
“And if you can get that it keeps the players interested, and if you can keep the players interested you can stay around, because you get performances and success.
“I don’t think Wales are a bogey team for us. There’s been some really tough games. The game last year was a one-score game right up until the end. The maul try that got penalised, it doesn’t matter now, but when you’re playing the top teams it’s down to fine margins.
“Last year we lost a couple of those through our own doing and also good play by Wales. We’ve got to win as many of those battles as we can tomorrow. These are special games, to be at home, it’s exciting. You can feel a good buzz around the squad that boys are excited by the challenge.”
Dan Biggar (Wales) – “I’ve been in an oxygen chamber to speed up recovery (from a shoulder injury) and just working with the physio. The medical staff here have been top draw, together with the conditioning guys.
“It’s more testament to them as it’s easy for me to come in and rehab with the end goal for me to get back in the team and back on the field. I’ve been doing a lot of running with the conditioning staff so I’d like to think fitness won’t be an issue on Saturday.
“Johnny (Sexton) is an absolutely fantastic player, you can see how important he is for Ireland and Leinster. He is a vital cog, along with Conor Murray, so we know we are up against two of the best in the business. And I like Johnny a lot. He has that streak in him where he knows exactly what he wants.
“He dictates play and in the summer he was really good, you could pick his brain. He’s got a great work ethic too and he’s very similar to myself in terms of personality – he has a real drive and will to win.
“Any Six Nations match is extremely special anyway, but when you play a top team like Ireland away from home, we know it’s almost like a cup final for us. If you lose it’s going to be very difficult to finish on top in the tournament – but if you win, you’ve got two home games to come against Italy and France and you have set yourself up incredibly well.
“That’s the biggest carrot for us. We need to make sure we enjoy the occasion as well. I have been involved in a lot of big games where you go out and you just don’t want to make a mistake. You’re uptight and tense and one of the good things about the group we’ve got at the minute is we’ve got a lot of boys in the squad who won’t feel like that. They’ll look at it as just another game and that’s how we need to approach it.”
Pre-Match Links –
Irish Rugby TV: Ireland v Wales Team Announcement Press Conference
Irish Rugby TV: Mike McCarthy Talks Ireland v Wales
In The Chair: Jack McGrath And Cian Healy
In Pics: Ireland Training Ahead Of Wales Match
Recent Meetings –
2015: RBS 6 Nations: Wales 23 Ireland 16, Aviva Stadium; Rugby World Cup Warm-Up: Wales 21 Ireland 35, Millennium Stadium; Rugby World Cup Warm-Up: Ireland 10 Wales 16, Aviva Stadium
2016: RBS 6 Nations: Ireland 16 Wales 16, Aviva Stadium
2017: RBS 6 Nations: Wales 22 Ireland 9, Principality Stadium
Support Ireland on www.irishrugby.ie/facebook or search #IREvWAL, #TeamOfUs and #ShouldertoShoulder on www.twitter.com/irishrugby.
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