At a time when most of the Six Nations coaches have been worrying about giving away their state secrets, Warren Gatland has laid his gameplan bare in the UK press.
The arrival of the Netflix cameras for a Six Nations documentary, and how welcome their presence is, has been a hot topic around the various camps this week. Players and coaches are worried about the extent of the intellectual property they'll give away to their competitors, regardless of the fact that the footage gathered wont even see the light of day until this time next year.
By then, the World Cup will be in the rearview mirror, players will have retired, and some coaches may have even moved on.
Gatland isn't going in for the cloak and dagger approach. Having brought forward the naming of his matchday squad to Tuesday, a full 48 hours before Ireland named theirs, the Wales coach then gave a fairly clear picture of how his side will be approaching the game in his Telegraph column on Thursday.
Referencing Leinster, who boast 10 of the starting Ireland side, and 13 of the matchday squad, he made reference to struggles against La Rochelle, Saracens and the Bulls in recent years.
"The games they have lost have tended to be when teams have come really hard at them," he said.
It's the obvious approach, and it's an issue Ireland have had to deal with as well as Leinster, having been beaten by France in all three of their meetings during this World Cup cycle.
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But the way in which they stood up to South Africa's pack in November will reassure that Irish sides can work their way around the gulf in power, and still play their own game.
The fact that Finlay Bealham replaced Tadhg Furlong midway through that South Africa game, and produced arguably his best 40 minutes of rugby in an Irish shirt, will also come as some relief, with the Connacht man stepping into the starting team this weekend, while Furlong is not quite ready to return from his calf injury.
The 31-year-old has been in career-best form for the past 18 months, as good as ever in the loose as his hat-trick last time out for Connacht against Newcastle Falcons can prove, but also in the tight work, where Dewald Senekal has turned around their scrum to one of the best in the URC.
And with Bealham promoted to the starting team, it's also an important day for Tom O'Toole, who steps up to the replacements' bench. When Andrew Porter moved across to loosehead in 2021 it seemed like a shootout between O'Toole and Bealham to become the regular 18 in the Irish squad. And while Bealham appears to have pulled clear in that race, Farrell maintains O'Toole is making steady progression.
A Six Nations run out in front of a packed Cardiff crowd should stand to him.
"He's been a project for a while and you get to that stage where you can't keep chasing potential," Farrell said of O'Toole this week.
"There's been a few opportunities for Tom and it's tough for a young kid, learning his trade against the best when he comes into camp but it's certainly helped him get to where he is now.
"His set-piece work, his bread and butter stuff has really come on over the last 12 months and that's a credit to Ulster as well."
Aside from the major switch at tighthead, Farrell's side is settled, and even the selection of Stuart McCloskey over Bundee Aki at inside centre doesn't come as a major surprise, after McCloskey's impressive displays alongside Garry Ringrose in the November wins against the Springboks and Wallabies.
Johnny Sexton is fit to start and lead Ireland out in Cardiff, with Ross Byrne making his Six Nations return in the 2022 shirt. Byrne seemed to be in the Test wilderness just a few months ago, with his younger brother Harry, Leinster team-mate Ciarán Frawley, and Munster pair Joey Carbery and Jack Crowley all moving ahead of him in the queue.
Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Dan Biggar, Tomas Francis, Taulupe Faletau, George North and Justin Tipuric all start, with Tipuric in particular playing some of the best rugby of his life. More importantly for Gatland, these are players who will have no fear of Irish jerseys, whatever their ranking is.
A combination of injuries and form have seen Harry Byrne, Frawley and Carbery all miss out, and while Crowley acquitted himself well in his first two games of Test rugby in November, Byrne's big game experience and familiarity with the bulk of the Ireland squad is something that can't be ignored, particularly in a World Cup year.
Crucially, Ireland have a lot of Test match animals on the bench.
Aki made a big impact when he came on in the second half of the win against Australia last time out, and while there are concerns over his fall from grace back at Connacht, Farrell places a huge amount of trust in him at international level.
Having missed the Test series with New Zealand, as well as the Autumn Nations Series, Iain Henderson (above) is back in an Ireland shirt. Conor Murray now starts instead of Jamison Gibson-
Park. But, including Jack Conan, you still have three 2021 British and Irish Lions set to bring an impact off the bench - Murray, of course, would have made that four. Craig Casey takes his place on the bench.
While the Welsh matchday squad has 99 caps more than Ireland's, it's frontloaded on the starting team. Ireland's eight substitutes combine for 412 international appearances, in comparison to just 195 for the hosts.
That well of experience will likely have a big say on Saturday's outcome. Despite some newcomers like Rio Dyer, Joe Hawkins and Jac Morgan, Gatland has got the band back together.
Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Dan Biggar, Tomas Francis, Taulupe Faletau, George North and Justin Tipuric all start, with Tipuric in particular playing some of the best rugby of his life. More importantly for Gatland, these are players who will have no fear of Irish jerseys, whatever their ranking is.
Given past failures, there's an air of discomfort travelling to Cardiff with Ireland such overwhelming favourites, with any argument for a Wales win largely relying on the intangibles; The Gatland factor, a packed Principality Stadium, Welsh pride, Ireland's record in Cardiff.
The length at which Irish players, and in particular Andy Farrell, have spoken about embracing mental pressure, and is reassuring ahead of a year which has the potential to deliver either Irish rugby's greatest highs, or most crushing lows.
And while Warren Gatland is scripting one of his great backs-to-the-wall performances, any detailed analysis points to an Ireland win, even if their
Verdict: Ireland
Wales: Liam Williams; Josh Adams, George North, Joe Hawkins, Rio Dyer; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Gareth Thomas, Ken Owens (capt), Tomas Francis; Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones; Jac Morgan, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Scott Baldwin, Rhys Carre, Dillon Lewis, Dafydd Jenkins, Tommy Reffell, Owen Williams, Alex Cuthbert.
Ireland: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Stuart McCloskey, James Lowe; Johnny Sexton (capt), Conor Murray; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Finlay Bealham; Tadhg Beirne, James Ryan; Peter O'Mahony, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Dave Kilcoyne, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson, Jack Conan, Craig Casey, Ross Byrne, Bundee Aki.
Follow our live blog of Wales v Ireland (Saturday 2.15pm) on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app, or listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
Watch live coverage of England v Scotland (Saturday 4.45pm) on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
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