Ireland begin their Rugby World Cup campaign in the heat of the Bordeaux sun against Romania on Saturday afternoon.
Andy Farrell's side, ranked number one in the world, have put together an impressive 13-Test winning run and expectations are high.
Find out all you need to know about the Pool B game here.
RADIO
Listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
ONLINE
Follow a live blog on RTE.ie/sport and the RTÉ News App followed by report, reaction and player ratings.
TV
Ireland v Romania is live on Virgin Media One. Watch highlights and analysis on Against the Head. Monday 8pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
WEATHER
It's going to be hot. Forecasters expect around 34c with humidity of 29%. Light winds might take some of the sting out of it. World Rugby has confirmed that there will be official water breaks during this weekend's games.
As World Cup openers go, meeting the Oaks, ranked 19th in the world, is a preferable way to start a tournament.
While they don't like talk of easing into the competition, it does allow Andy Farrell to reintegrate Johnny Sexton, who has sat out the last six months, into the fold.
Romania, who have appeared in all bar one renewal of the tournament (2019), qualified after finishing second in the Rugby Europe table behind Georgia.
When last on the world stage, in 2015, they did manage to pull off the biggest comeback in the competition’s history, overturning a 15-0 deficit to beat Canada 17-15 in Leicester City’s stadium.
Unfortunately, their two-try hero that day, Mihai Macovei, misses out against Ireland with a calf injury.
While Ireland are on a record 13-game winning streak, Romania’s warm-up schedule was made up of three defeats: 31-17 to the USA, 56-6 to Georgia and 57-7 to Italy.
They come in as 65-point underdogs and must hope that the high temperatures affect Ireland more so they can keep the score somewhat respectable.
Coach Eugen Apjok has made three changes to the team beaten by Italy and New Zealand-born Hinckley Vaovasa gets his second start at out-half.
In addition to Sexton’s recall, another notable call is lock Joe McCarthy getting his first competitive start on his fourth cap, while Keith Earls is preferred over Mack Hansen.
Ireland have won all nine previous meetings, including three World Cup clashes, the last of which came in front of a tournament record crowd of 89,267 at Wembley in 2015.
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Johnny Sexton (capt), Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Rob Herring, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Tadhg Beirne, Peter O'Mahony, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Jeremy Loughman, Tom O'Toole, Iain Henderson, Josh van der Flier, Conor Murray, Jack Crowley, Robbie Henshaw.
Romania: Marius Simionescu; Nicolas Onutu, Fonovai Tangimana, Jason Tomane, Tevita Manumua; Hinckley Vaovasa, Gabriel Rupanu; Iulian Hartig, Ovidiu Cojocaru, Alexandru Gordas; Adrian Motoc, Stefan Iancu; Florian Rosu, Vlad Neculau, Cristian Chirica (capt).
Replacements: Florin Bardasu, Alexandru Savin, Gheorghe Gajion, Marius Iftimiciuc, Dragos Ser, Alin Conache, Tudor Boldor, Taylor Gontineac.
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
AR: Wayne Barnes (England)
AR: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Brendan Pickerill (New Zealand)
WHAT THEY SAID
Andy Farrell (Ireland head coach): "We've got lots of experience and a nice blend of youth within our squad. We've got a squad of 33 that we totally believe in. No matter what side we pick, it's going to be one that's threatening and a determined one at that."
Eugen Apjok (Romania head coach): "It is very important for them to play and enjoy this game as it can be a moment where we see our strengths and weaknesses. Also, it can be a very important start to build towards qualification for the next World Cup as 95% of the players at this World Cup will be available for the next one also."
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
Ireland 44-10 Romania (Wembley Stadium) 27 September 2015 - Rugby World Cup
Ireland 43-12 Romania (Lansdowne Road) 26 November 2005 - Autumn Test
Ireland 45-17 Romania (Central Coast Stadium, Gosford) 11 October 2003 - Rugby World Cup
Ireland 39-8 Romania (Thomond Park) 7 September 2002 - Rugby World Cup Qualifier
Romania 3-37 Ireland (Stadionul Dinamo, Bucharest) 2 June 2001 - Summer Tour
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Listen to live coverage of Ireland v Romania (Saturday 2.30pm) on RTÉ Radio 1, and follow live updates of that game, France v New Zealand (Friday 8.15pm) and South Africa v Scotland (Sunday 4.45pm) on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News app, with match reports on every game.
