Tadhg Furlong insists Ireland will not be guilty of playing with one eye on a Six Nations decider when they face Wales in Cardiff tonight (kick-off 8.05pm, live on RTÉ Two and Radio 1).
Joe Schmidt's side must win against opponents who are already out of championship contention to keep alive the prospect of beating holders England and claiming the title at the Aviva on March 18.
The Wexford man is adamant, however, that taking victory for granted would be a huge mistake.
"There hasn't been much word about England around the camp. It's all about beating Wales," he told the RTÉ Sport Rugby Podcast.
"It's a must-win game if we want to keep our championship hopes alive but we have to take the game in isolation and not look too far ahead ahead of it because it's a massive test for us."
Wales began their Six Nations campaign with a 33-7 win in Italy but let a lead slip late on to lose narrowly at home to England and then suffered a first defeat in 10 years to Scotland in Murrayfield.
Furlong, who won his first cap against the Welsh in a World Cup 2015 warm-up game, is wary of the bite of the wounded Dragons.
"I thought they played really well against England at home, and then had a really good first half against Scotland," said Furlong.
"I'm sure they'll be disappointed with the second but they have a chance now at home in front of a crowd that's very passionate about rugby.
"They had a down week as well and sometimes when you lose one you like to get back into the saddle.
"We know it's going to be an absolute battle out there. I don't think anyone expects anything different when the Irish play the Welsh.
"It's going to be a massive test for us but it's one that everyone is looking forward to. It's a really good barometer of where we are."
From his position at the front of the scrum, tighthead prop Furlong, has seen the power of the Welsh at first hand.
"They're an incredibly big physical team," he said. "Their front-row forwards and scrum can be very dangerous, as we found out last year.
"In terms of their maul and maul defence they're very strong. In their backline, there are threats all over and strong, physical specimens. They attack with really good speed and depth.
"We're going to have to be really on the money to cope with them."
Live Six Nations coverage of Wales v Ireland on RTÉ Two and RTÉ Player from 7pm on Friday (KO 8.05pm), 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 Saturday.
Live coverage of Wales v Ireland in the Under-20 Six Nations on RTÉ Two from 6.15pm (KO 6.30pm) on Saturday.
