Ireland scrum coach Greg Feek believes that his side will face a major test against the Welsh scrum, but is confident that they can get the win that would keep their Six Nations hopes alive.
Ireland travel to Cardiff in just under two weeks time for a Friday evening encounter with Wales which they must win if they’re are to have any chance of claiming the Six Nations title.
A win in Cardiff would set up a final day potential decider with England, but Feek and Ireland aren’t looking past that showdown with Wales.
The Welsh will be smarting after suffering a 29-13 defeat to Scotland at the weekend and Feek expects a response from the hosts in Cardiff.
“They’ve got a good unit that has been together for a long time, with Alun Wyn (Jones) in the engine room and Ken Owens at hooker,” he said.
"I think it’s a dangerous group but we’ve played these guys a few times, they’ve played them in the clubs, so there’s a lot of awareness there.
"They (Wales) group together really well and they’ll be hurting, so I think it’s important that this week we physically regenerate and freshen up and coming into the weekend that we come together to make sure that we’re in the right mindset."
"There is an excitement with what we have coming up."
Nevertheless Feek is confident that Ireland can get the result they need in Wales and insists that there’s a real hunger in the Ireland squad now.
"There is an excitement with what we have coming up," he said. "We’ve got first dip so we can come in start preparing with enthusiasm. What are we going to do? How are we going to do it?
"Johnny [Sexton] has come back in and he’s added that extra bit of intensity and also clarity. He asks such good questions and says things that just sum things up.
"We’ve got [Rory] Best as captain and Jamie [Heaslip] is in there and Conor [Murray] is going really well. I think at the moment we’re fortunate to have a really good leadership group that work really well together."
Rob Kearney is Ireland’s biggest injury concern, coming out of Saturday’s victory over France after he picked up a groin strain, but Feek believes that he has enough time to recover and prove his fitness.
"He’s got the groin thing at the moment but one thing we have confidence in is our medical staff and strength and conditioning.
"We someone get something, the average person may not get back in a month but we’ve got such good medical and rehab processes that these guys can come back really quick.
"We’re confident with the crew we have that Rob will be fine."
