It is considered to hand the home side an advantage, but part of Conor Murray would still love to play under a closed roof when Ireland face Wales on Friday.
Joe Schmidt's men are still aiming for Six Nations glory, while Wales must play for pride with two losses under their belts.
Scrum-half Murray, Ireland’s standout performer of the championship, has played in the Principality Stadium with the roof closed and open. However, Ireland have never lined up for a Six Nations Friday night lights game in Cardiff.
The decision on the roof must be agreed by both sides at least 48 hours before the game.
“Part of me would like it to be closed, the atmosphere is incredible,” the Munster man said.
“You’re only going to feed off it. There’ll be a lot of Welsh fans there but there’ll be a lot of Irish too, who always make themselves heard. It’s a real special place to play.
“I don’t mind, if the weather’s going to be poor and it’s going to be raining, then you’d probably prefer it to be closed.
“We’ve had it closed, we’ve had it open, we’ve had it open on good, dry days and it’s been really enjoyable.
“We’ve had it closed and the atmosphere’s been incredible.
“We’re used to both ways and whatever way we agree on, we’ll be ready for that. I don’t think it makes a massive difference to the way we play the game.
“Maybe if it’s raining or windy outside, it’s maybe a little calmer inside.
“They’ll be loud but we’re all used to playing in big stadiums with high number of opposition fans. I don’t think it will bother us too much.”
Former Wales wing Shane Williams, winner of three Six Nations titles, said last week that his old side are a momentum team.
That they don’t have any going into Friday’s game does not, however, lull Murray into a false sense of security. There are also world ranking points on the line.
Last season, Ireland were out of contention after two games and the 27-year-old knows how it feels to have to lift yourself for Tests with nothing on the line in terms of silverware.
“We’ve been in a position like that last year where we weren’t in the hunt for the championship,” said the 56-cap international.
“From our perspective, it was a home game [against Italy], you were hurting from the defeats before and the way you performed.
“If anything, it makes them more dangerous. They’re at home, it’s their number one sport, they are going to be really fired up.
“Once the whistle goes it's just a Test match again, you are aware of the circumstance.
“We’d be foolish not to think that they are going to be hurting; there’s going to be a backlash from the Welsh team.
“They are back at home and they don’t want to lose at home. It’s going to be a massive challenge, particularly with them hurting so much.
"They are a tough prospect at home anyway… they are going to be fired up for this game big time.”
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Live Six Nations coverage of Wales v Ireland on RTÉ Two and RTÉ Player from 7pm on Friday (KO 8pm), live radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 from 7.45pm and live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News Now app.
Live coverage of Wales v Ireland (KO 11.30am) in the Women’s Six Nations on RTÉ Two and RTÉ Player from 11.15am on Saturday.
Live Six Nations coverage of Italy v France (KO 1.30pm) and England v Scotland (KO 4pm) on RTÉ Two and RTÉ Player from 1.20pm on Sunday.
Live coverage of Wales v Ireland in the Under-20 Six Nations on RTÉ Two from 6.15pm (KO 6.30pm) on Saturday.
