Ireland team to face Wales in the Six Nations

“If you lose, it’s going to be very hard 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”.

Joe Schmidt’s side barely threatened a try in the narrow win over France and then a week later tore Italy apart, crossing the whitewash on no less than eight occasions. Italy scored two tries against England and also crossed the line three times in Ireland which underlines their attacking game has progressed from a year ago.

Warren Gatland’s 100th Test in charge of Wales will taste doubly sweet if it delivers victory over Ireland in what former Irish star Shane Horgan labels the “grudge match of the Six Nations“.

“My game was about really high tempo, as quick as I could, and really put a pace on the game. 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”.

“And if it doesn’t change his mind tomorrow but we win, we’ll not really be that bothered”.

The props – Ireland have lost their ball-carrying dynamo Tadhg Furlong with a hamstring injury and Andrew Porter comes into the side at tighthead for only his second Test start.

There is one change to the backline, with Chris Farrell replacing the injured Robbie Henshaw at outside centre.

Schmidt said: “It is not ideal and you do not suddenly replace three world-class players but we focus on what we have, exciting young players like the three who have come in”. It’s a game of rugby. “Look I think he’s entitled to his opinion”.

He added: “Do we play slightly differently from two years ago?”

“I know the coaches will be talking to him”.

“I think there is a degree of frustration from our players”. We have got to make sure we are ready for whatever they throw at us and not give them too many access points to play.

Gareth Anscombe started and had a decent game at 15 and 10, where he switched in the second half after Patchell was taken off. “That’s more important than reaching 100 games”.

“And all we ask is for that to be respected, and I suppose protected”.

“You can afford to slip up in one game”. Keith Earls, 13. Chris Farrell, 12.

‘He’s just getting a bit older, so he needed a bit longer to warm up, but he came into the tail-end of the session.

“You want to have some experience around inexperienced players, because when you are out there, and things are happening as fast as they tend to in a Test match, you can get spooked”.

Gatland said they have become comfortable with the depth at wing.

Fly-half Sexton sat out the opening section of Ireland’s captain’s run training session to have treatment on general stiffness, but stepped in and completed the session unimpeded.