While it's 12 years since Ireland were last beaten by Wales in a Six Nations game in Dublin, it's hard to remember the last time one side was so overwhelmingly favoured in a meeting of the pair.
A quick look at the odds makes for alarming reading from a Welsh perspective, with Ireland an unbackable 40/1 to make it three wins out of three this Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.
Warren Gatland's side have nothing to lose when they come to Dublin this weekend. With two defeats from two, and their opponents starting with a pair of bonus-point wins, the form book points towards another Irish win.
The Wales coach is no fool though, and his decision to gut his ageing squad last year and back his younger, more inexperienced players to play now rather than later is a long-term strategy, but one that will see them learn some costly errors along the way.
The New Zealander has an unfair reputation for conservative rugby, with the 'Warrenball' pejorative rather insulting for one of the game's most decorated coaches.
His game style may be conservative, but has a history for taking big gambles, as Ireland's defence coach Simon Easterby remembers fondly.
Just over 24 years ago to the day, Easterby was one of five players thrown in at the deep end by the then-Ireland head coach, who responded to a heavy defeat to England at Twickenham with a raft of changes for their meeting with Scotland.
Along with Easterby, Ronan O'Gara, Peter Stringer, Shane Horgan and John Hayes were all put in for their debuts, and the gamble paid off. Not only did they win 44-22, but his five debutants would go on to form the spine of the team that would go on to win a pair of Triple Crowns in 2004 and 2006.
"My memory might be a little vague on what happened that week but Warren was very good, still is, at giving players confidence to go out and be the best version of themselves, like a lot of the best coaches are," Easterby said, as he looked back on what was a seminal game in Irish rugby.
"He's made a brilliant career out of that, I think that's what my memory would be: him saying 'go out, you're here for a reason. Don't be overawed by it, put in a performance.
"He wouldn't say a huge amount, Warren, he is a man of few words at times and when he does speak, players do respond to it."
Almost a quarter of a century later, Gatland is still throwing curveballs.
After their 27-26 defeat to Scotland in Round 1, in which they gave the Scots a 27-point head start, the Wales coach made seven changes to his side for their visit to Twickenham, and it nearly paid off, as they gave up a 14-5 half-time lead to ultimately lose 16-14 against England.
This week, Gatland decided to lay his cards out on the table early, naming his squad for the trip to Dublin on Tuesday, more than 48 hours before Ireland announce theirs.
"I just think he's his own man," Easterby (below) added.
"He's so experienced now, his track record is unbelievable. I remember when he first came into Wales in 2008 and picked 13 Ospreys players and it was the year they won the Grand Slam.
"It was a masterstroke really because he picked guys who were familiar with each other and then was able to get the best out of them in the red jersey.
"His track record was incredible, whether it is what he did initially with Ireland when we brought a few players through, but then he went to Wasps, then to Wales and had a really successful period, the work he's done with the Lions.
"He's very much his own man, he had a good coaching group back then with Robin McBryde, Rob Howley, Jenks [Neil Jenkins] who has been there for a good few years and continued to coach.
"They had a really strong philosophy in terms of how we're going to approach this, attack this and that first year it was successful."
Gatland's hugely successful first period in charge of Wales papered over some systemic cracks in Welsh rugby, that have become clear in recent seasons.
Financial difficulties mean their clubs have struggled to compete for the top end of both the URC and Champions Cup, with his players threatening to go on strike just over 12 months ago due to the uncertainty around their contracts.
On the pitch, Gatland has seen hundred of caps worth of experience move on, with the likes of Alun-Wyn Jones, Dan Biggar, Justin Tipuric and Leigh Halfpenny among those to retire from Test rugby, while Ken Owens is on the long-term injury list.
Of the matchday squad for Saturday's meeting at the Aviva, eight of the squad have fewer than 10 international caps, while 21-year-old second row Dafydd Jenkins is the second youngest man to captain Wales behind Gareth Edwards.
Easterby has had a close up view of the recent struggles in Welsh rugby, with the former Llanelli Scarlets flanker still living in Wales with his family.
And he has a warning for anybody who thinks they will be a soft touch this weekend.
"I think history has proved it, they bombed out of the World Cup in 2007 before the quarter-finals, then they go and win the Grand Slam a year after.
"There's a lot of crap going on in regional rugby and it's tough for clubs, it's tough for individuals within the clubs, not just players but for all the backroom people affiliated to the different clubs who have worked over the years to sustain regional rugby.
"Supporters as well have kind of suffered a bit, but when they [the players] get into Welsh camp it's been proven time and again they have a huge amount of belief in what they're doing when they put on a Welsh red jersey.
"It showed really in the Scotland game at home, 27-0 down, lots of reasons why they're 27-0 down, but they go back and nearly win the game. They go to Twickenham and arguably should have won the game.
"When they go into Welsh camp they know how to prepare and know how to make a difference, the coaching group are part of that, but the players are different beasts when they put on that red jersey; they understand what it is to represent their country, as our guys do as well.
"[There is] a huge amount of support for our team and the players feel it. The Welsh are the same; they're a passionate people, they just want to see the players go out and give everything. That doesn't mean it's going to be a success, but a performance, you'll always get that from a Welsh team."
Watch Ireland v Wales in the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
