Wales brace for Irish impact

The 2022 Six Nations will kick off in Dublin on Saturday afternoon with what is expected to be a cracker of a contest as Ireland host Wales. 

 

One would be forgiven for labelling Wales as underdogs in this one as Ireland will enjoy the voice of their home crowd while, on the injury front, have been blessed with a full deck from which to choose. Andy Farrell’s men have churned out great performances of late and were one of the unbeaten sides in the 2021 Autumn Nations Series – a tournament in which the men in green turned the most heads as they downed the All Blacks 29-20 while also bringing the hammer down on Japan and Argentina, 60-5 and 53-7 respectively. 

 

Wales’ tournament was decidedly less successful and included a heavy, 54-16 loss to the All Blacks (Wales were, however, missing a number of big names for this particular fixture as it fell outside the Test window), a 23-18 loss to the Springboks, a 38-23 victory over Fiji before capping off their campaign with a 29-28 win over the Wallabies. 

 

The last five encounters between these two sides have been heavily dominated by the Irish who claimed four of those games as victories. However, the last time they locked horns, it was Wales who left the pitch as winners – in the first round of the 2021 Six Nations: 

 

 

 

The Irish headed for Portugal last week for a training camp at The Campus in Quinta da Lago and received the positive news that Keith Earls, Josh van der Flier, Joey Carbery, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan and Iain Henderson – who all had question marks over their names with regard to availability – were looking in good nick as Round 1 edges nearer.  

 

Perhaps the most noteworthy individual clash on display in this match-up will take place in the flyhalf channel where the wily old heads of Dan Biggar and Johnny Sexton will bump. 

 

Much has been made of this imminent battle but there seems to be much respect between the two adversaries who will both captain their respective sides on Saturday. 

 

“Whenever I get asked who has been the most difficult person to play against of the last 10-12 years, there is no doubt Johnny’s name would be very near the top,” Biggar said. 

 

“He is very similar to myself in terms of the drive, the will to win, scrapping for absolutely everything on the field. 

 

“It’s a testament to him in how he has managed to handle himself and keep his form going into his mid-30s. I don’t think anyone is sure how old he really is! 

 

“He is going really strong, and I’ve got a huge amount of time for Johnny. There are very few people more deserving of 100 caps in international rugby than Johnny. 

 

“It is always a challenge playing against him. We may not be the best of friends for 80 minutes on the pitch and quite narky at each other. 

 

“But away from the field, he is an absolute pleasure to deal with and I have a huge amount of time for him.” 

 

Despite the pleasant remarks coming his way, the gravity and needle of this particular rivalry is not lost on Sexton who is all too aware of what he and his charges are in for come the weekend. 

 

“It’s a big rivalry, isn’t it?” Sexton said. 

 

“Over the years they haven’t been shy in saying that, that they’re not mad about the Irish. So, I think big rivalries make for unpredictable fixtures. We’re coming up against the champions, coming up against a team that beat us last year, and we want to do something in this championship. 

 

“The best way to do that is to start off with a good performance and that’s what all our focus will be on over the next 10 days. 

 

“They love playing for Wales, they are different players when they play for Wales and they’ll turn up 100 per cent ready to go. 

 

“They won the championship last year, they were so close to winning another Grand Slam and they’re a team to be reckoned with. 

 

“They’ve had a good November, so they’ve got some momentum too, and it’s going to be a great battle. 

 

“We’ve spoken about Wales. We’ve spoken about how we can start the best way possible from the opening game, that’s the way, and then if you want to speak about the competition as a whole it’s not every year you get a home game to finish the tournament. 

 

“For us, that’s exciting. The work that needs to be done to get us into a position that we can do something at the end of the tournament, in our home venue and in front of a full crowd, that’s what I’m thinking about. 

 

“Then, you’ve got to bring it back to this moment and how we prepare for the opening game against Wales and that’s what we’re thinking about at the moment, making sure that we get off to the best start possible. 

 

“I was on a captain’s call there with the others and they were speaking about momentum, and it is very true in the Six Nations. When you get a good start the camp is happier and training is easier to go to and all that. A good start is very important. 

 

“The French in Paris is always one of the biggest tests in international rugby. Our record over there, we have only ever picked up a few wins. We know when we come to it, France are building a good young side, very exciting, they have got some good coaches in there as well. 

 

“So, it will be a huge challenge whenever it comes, but for the moment, let’s focus on getting our preparation right for playing the champions at home.” 

Much has been made of the selection of Australian Mack Hansen in the back three after his cracking form for Connacht in the URC.

“He’s a smart rugby player, he makes things happen. He knows how to get himself involved in the game. He’s got a good skill-set across the board,” said Farrell at the team announcement press conference.

“It’s tough when you first go into international camps, but the ones who do it best and hit the ground running end up getting to a good few caps straight away.

“They’re the guys that are able to be told once or maybe twice and pick up things straight away. Mack has certainly done that.”

The Ireland boss then commented on the camp in Portugal:

"Camp was fantastic. We certainly prepared very well and there is a reason for that, because of continuity, etc. People coming into camp and hitting the ground running.

“Very happy with how things have gone so far. We keep on building for the rest of the week and ready to perform on Saturday.”

The most talked-about element of the composition of the Wales squad is the selection of Josh Adams at outside centre, moving in-field from his normal spot on the wing.

Commenting on the squad, Pivac said:

“One of the talking points is Josh Adams at 13 but, as you know, we named him there in the autumn to play against Fiji.

"He's trained there quite a bit and he's finished a few games there. It’s something we’re excited to have a look at.

"We wouldn’t do it unless we thought he could do a job. He's played there for Cardiff.

"There's one exciting change there. Dewi Lake coming off the bench, a debutant. It's exciting to see him go. He's been working hard to get over his foot injury and get back into the Ospreys side.

"We think he’ll make an impact when he comes on. When you look across the team, the rest of it is pretty settled in terms of what we had in the autumn.

"Really pleased we've got a back-three with a bit of pace who are firing in training. We’re in a good space, albeit in training. There's still 15 green shirts to be put in front of us."

MATCH FACTS:

• Ireland have won four of their last five Test meetings with Wales (L1) however their solitary defeat in that run came in the most recent match between the sides, during last year’s Guinness Six Nations (16-21).
• Ireland have won their last four home games against Wales, their best run since winning four on the bounce between 2002 and 2006; they’ve never won five straight home games against Wales though.
• Wales have won two of their last three games outside Wales (L1), this after losing each of their previous six such matches, both victories coming during last year’s Guinness Six Nations.
• Ireland have won 27 of their last 29 Tests at the Aviva Stadium (L2), including their last six in a row, with their only defeats coming against England in 2019 and France in 2021 – both defeats coming in the Guinness Six Nations.
• Wales score the most points (164) and tries (20) during the Guinness Six Nations in 2021, despite making the joint fewest carries (511), gaining the fewest metres (1,548) and beating the fewest defenders during the Championship (58); their average of 3.7 points per 22 entry was the best of any nation.
• Wales boasted the joint best scrum success rate in the Championship in 2021 (96%, level with France), while only England (95%) recorded a better lineout success rate than Wayne Pivac’s side (91%); in fact, Wales were the only nation have a success rate of 90+% at both the scrum and lineout.
• Ireland made the most kicks in play of any team during the 2021 Guinness Six Nations (151), despite this they also made the most passes of any nation during the Championship (871); Wales made the second most kicks (147) and retained possession from their kicks more often than any other side (23).
• Ireland duo Tadhg Beirne and Iain Henderson ranked first and second respectively for turnovers won in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations, eight of Beirne’s turnovers were won via jackals with five of Henderson’s being won in that fashion.
• Ireland’s Johnny Sexton (96%, 25/26) recorded the best goal kicking success rate of any player (min. 3 kicks) during the 2021 Guinness Six Nations, despite his expected success rate being just 82%, based on the kicks he attempted during the Championship; those kicks were worth an additional 10 points for Ireland, the best differential of any player.
• Wales boasted the top tackler in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations (Justin Tipuric – 82) while Ireland had the top ball carrier within their ranks (CJ Stander – 72), however, neither man will feature in this year’s Championship, with Tipuric out through injury and Stander retiring at the end of last year’s tournament.