By Jac Jones.
On Friday, 6 March, Wales travel to Dublin to take on Ireland in the penultimate weekend of the Six Nations Championship.
Ireland will be aiming for a victory to move one step closer to securing the Triple Crown, and should other results fall their way, they may yet mount a late push for the championship title. Wales, meanwhile, arrive with little chance of climbing out of the bottom two and will instead be playing for pride and the chance to claim valuable bragging rights. Ireland has dominated this fixture in the 2020s, defeating Wales in six of their seven meetings so far this decade.
Historically, though, it is Wales who have the beating of the boys in green, having claimed 70 victories from the 136 clashes between the two nations. Their last win in Dublin came back in 2012, in a thrilling encounter that saw the lead change hands five times across the 80 minutes before finishing 23–21 in favour of Warren Gatland’s side.
Wales have endured a torrid run in recent years, managing just two wins from their last 25 matches. That downturn has led to near-constant upheaval behind the scenes. Wayne Pivac, who led the side from 2019 to 2022, was replaced by Warren Gatland, brought back in an attempt to recreate the remarkable 12-year success of his first spell in charge.
When that revival failed to materialise, the Welsh Rugby Union found itself searching for answers. The appointment of Steve Tandy initially sparked hope of a turnaround. However, results have continued to disappoint, with Wales struggling to halt their slide and re-establish themselves on the international stage.
In contrast, Ireland has enjoyed far greater success in recent seasons, winning the vast majority of their fixtures and suffering only a handful of defeats. As a result, the boys in green have cemented their status as one of the finest Irish sides in history, firmly establishing themselves among the northern hemisphere’s elite and earning a place alongside the game’s most iconic international teams.
Last Week Taine Plumtree was ruled out of the rest of the Six Nations tournament with a shoulder injury. In response, Steve Tandy is expected to call up Dragons’ second/back row Ryan Woodman, who will be hoping to make his international debut in either of the last two games. Sam Costelow has also been ruled out of Wales’s upcoming clash with Ireland after suffering an ankle injury during the second half of their 26–23 defeat to Scotland. His absence has sparked an intense battle for the coveted No. 10 jersey, a shirt once worn by Welsh greats such as Barry John, Jonathan Davies, and Dan Biggar.
At the moment, it appears that either Jarrod Evans or Dan Edwards will step into the playmaking role on Friday night. Speaking to the BBC, Wales attack coach Matt Sherratt acknowledged the tight contest for selection: “There’s a real tussle going on with the 10s at the moment,” said Sherratt “Dan was starting in the autumn and started the Six Nations. Sam has trained the house down and deserved that start. It’s up to the two remaining for this week now to fight it out to start the weekend.”
Ireland will head into Friday’s clash confident in their ability to overcome any opposing pack. However, they remain wary of the threat Wales poses, fully aware that the Welsh have produced surprise victories before. Few understand that danger better than former Ireland international and captain, and now forwards coach, Paul O’Connell.
Speaking ahead of the game, O’Connell explained that while Ireland still analyses their opponents closely, they now prefer to focus on their own game, assuming that if they are in their top form, they will be unbeatable: “For sure, we focus on the opposition but less than we did in my playing days,” he said when talking to reporters on Tuesday.
“There’s real excitement about how we’re going to play and perform, but having said that, Wales have excellent players and athletes, really good coaches. You’ve seen hints of it over the last few months, and I think Wales are going to get better and better, but for us, it’s about our performance. We’re expecting a tough game, but we want to see us getting better at what we do.”
In many ways, Friday’s encounter in Dublin feels like a meeting of two sides heading in very different directions. Ireland arrives with momentum and belief. Wales, by contrast, travel across the Irish Sea in search of resilience, cohesion and a performance that can reignite pride in the red jersey.
History shows this fixture is rarely short on drama, and while recent form heavily favours the hosts, Wales have made a habit of upsetting expectations when written off. The stars may align for Wales on Friday night and begin the turnaround in their fortunes, but even more likely the Irish will slay the dragon and leave the Aviva Stadium victorious.
