The Six Nations returns as the first rest week comes to an end.
Ireland will visit Wales at the Principality Stadium, with both teams bolstering their playing squads during the week.
From Ireland's perspective, they’ll be aiming for continuity in their dominance thus far. Wales will have a new bounce after Warren Gatland stepped away and attack-minded Matt Sherratt has come in at short notice.
Sherratt is known for his attacking game and with a fresh start, he might bring some excitement to an area of the game where Wales have struggled. The challenge will be to provide enough clarity with just a week to implement his ideas.
Talisman Caelan Doris will miss the visit to Cardiff and there really is no replacing his workrate, ruck intelligence and ball carrying. However, if ever there was a time where Ireland could reshuffle their back row, now is it.
Jack Conan would be starting with most other teams. He’s been in his best form for quite some time and a start would have been on the cards at some stage. The plan might not have been to rest Doris, who has featured in 41 of Ireland’s last 42 matches, but they’ll be confident that it won’t disrupt their play.
Most of the changes are expected in the Welsh side. With a new head coach and the return of a handful of quality players, it’s probably the toughest game for Ireland to preview. They don’t have any evidence of what’s coming at them.
Gareth Anscombe returns under Sherratt, which is one of the major problem areas that Wales had under Gatland. There are a few out-half options that Gatland could have used to give this inexperienced and underperforming team a focal point, yet he refused to do it.
He tried to plug the gap with Ben Thomas, who plays most of his rugby at inside-centre. A team that lacks the direction that is needed from the out-half position will always underperform, and other players haven’t been able to put their best foot forward in the rudderless attack that we’ve seen so far.
Anscombe is a highly experienced and calm leader coming back into this side. How he was pushed aside is baffling. Wales have many other options at out half too. Jarrod Evans returns to camp as well, giving Sherratt options with players that he knows from club level.
There was a wildcard that could have been played with Sam Davies making headlines in France. It’s probably the selection that carries more risk, but Davies isn’t gone beyond international level yet and he should still be considered.
Wales have struggled in midfield as well. With more options giving them direction in attack, Max Llewelyn could come straight back into the outside centre position under Sherratt. Llewelyn was seen as a shock omission under Gatland, with strange logic cited as the reason. Llewelyn could team up with his club mate Anscombe in a new look and dangerous midfield for Wales.
What’s been surprising is the impact that the Welsh front row has had from the bench without any thought for starting them.
Elliot Dee, Nicky Smith and Kieron Assiratti have over 100 caps between them. Nicky Smith in particular seems like a bewildering omission from the starting team, considering how difficult he can be for the opposition scrum, and the impact he had against France.
You could see a very different side to Wales this weekend, with their first home game of the tournament and the bounce of a new head coach.
However, with an unprecedented 14th loss in a row, and facing the well-oiled machine of Simon Easterby’s Ireland, it’s very hard to see the result going in favour of Wales.
Ireland have put themselves into a dominant position with their wins over England and Scotland, and considering England’s defeat of France, Easterby and Ireland know that they’re on the way to a historic third Six Nations Championship in a row.
They won’t be expecting Wales to roll over and if anything, now is the most dangerous time to be travelling to the Principality stadium.
It’s quite clear that Gatland wasn’t the biggest issue in Welsh rugby. He might have set out his own stall with his attempt to rejuvenate Wales with his inexperienced selections, but there’s a lot more going on above his pay grade.
Regardless, the appointment of Sherratt shows that there’s some element of change and the passionate Welsh supporters will have something to shout about in Cardiff this weekend.
Ireland have too much strength in depth to struggle against Wales, regardless of the changes.
There’s a serious gulf in clarity, cohesion and confidence between the two groups. Wales will be a very sticky challenge this weekend, but I wouldn’t expect them to give Ireland much of a fright either. It’ll take time to wear them down, and we should expect a tight and physical encounter, but Ireland’s precision and tempo should see Wales off in the final quarter.
It’s difficult to foresee any Irish changes considering the uncertainty with Wales. What might have looked like a great opportunity to reverse some tight selection calls, seems a little bit more challenging with the uncertainty coming from their opposition.
Doris and Kelleher are reportedly out, with some other injury worries. Ireland’s stocks in the back five positions in the pack are plentiful so I don’t think there’s any major concern.
Easterby might make a handful of changes to ensure there aren’t further injuries before a potential decider against France, but they can’t take their eyes off a difficult task travelling to Wales first.
Ireland to win, but how both team selections play out will be intriguing in the week ahead.
Watch England v Scotland in the Under-20 Six Nations on Friday from 7.05pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
Watch England v Scotland in the Six Nations on Saturday from 4.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
Follow a live blog on Wales v Ireland in the Six Nations on Saturday from 2.15pm on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary with Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
