Having played their two tough away games in the opening three weeks, the fallow week of the 2026 Guinness Women's Six Nations will have come at just the right time for Ireland.
Back on home soil for the remainder of the championship, the goal now is to pick up two wins across their final two games, as they look to cement their place in the top half of the championship for the third season in a row.
Next week's standalone Aviva Stadium clash with Scotland is the showstopper of the campaign, but before they can think about that they first have to take on Wales in Belfast this Saturday night.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of that game at Affidea Stadium.
TV
Ireland v Wales is live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with coverage getting under way at 6pm.
Italy v England (2pm) and Scotland v France (4.15pm) are both live on Virgin Media.
ONLINE
We'll have a live blog, report and reaction from Ireland v Wales on www.rte.ie/sport.
RADIO
Listen to live commentary of Ireland v Wales on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport.
WEATHER
Conditions look great for rugby in Belfast on Saturday evening, with a dry day expected and temperatures of around 11C, with just a gentle breeze.
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Like Ireland, the Welsh have had to face France and England in their opening two games, and like Ireland they lost both, although Sean Lynn's side did take a four-try bonus-point from their 62-24 defeat to the Red Roses in Bristol.
The visitors are now on an eight-game losing streak in this championship, dating back to their 22-20 win against Italy in the final round of 2024, while Ireland have won comfortably in each of their last two meetings, the latest of which was a 40-14 win in Newport on Easter Sunday last year.
While they have shown improvements since their disappointing World Cup campaign last year, they travel to Ireland without several key players; regular captain Alex Callendar is missing for the entire tournament, while her stand-in Kate Williams is also missing from the back row with injury, as is second row Gwen Crabb.
For the second game in a row, Bemand has only made a minor tweak to his starting team, welcoming Eve Higgins back to the centre after she featured from the bench in the last two games.
Twelve of this week's side are starting for the fourth game out of four, with Bemand sticking with the same front row, back row and half-back partnership across the campaign.
There is one debutant in this week's matchday squad; Enfield native Niamh Gallagher has been named among the replacements, having featured for Ireland U21 against Italy last month.
The 20-year-old, who plays in the PWR for Trailfinders, can cover a variety of positions in the backline, and is noted for her long kicking range.
Her versatility has allowed Bemand go for a 6:2 split of forwards to backs on the bench, which he says is a response to the how potent the Welsh pack have been at creating scoring chances. Seven of their eight tries in this championship have originated from a maul.
This will be the 25th all-time meeting of Ireland and Wales in the Women's Six Nations, with Ireland leading the head-to-head record 13-11.
Ireland have only lost once to Wales at home since 2008, a 27-19 defeat at the RDS in 2022.
TEAMS
Ireland: Stacey Flood; Béibhinn Parsons, Aoife Dalton, Eve Higgins, Robyn O'Connor; Dannah O'Brien, Emily Lane; Ellena Perry, Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Linda Djougang; Dorothy Wall, Fiona Tuite; Brittany Hogan, Erin King (capt), Aoife Wafer.
Replacements: Neve Jones, Sadhbh McGrath, Eilís Cahill, Ruth Campbell, Sam Monaghan, Grace Moore, Katie Whelan, Niamh Gallagher.
Wales: Kayleigh Powell; Hannah Dallavalle, Carys Cox, Courtney Keight, Jasmine Joyce; Lleucu George, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Sisilia Tuipulotu; Branwen Metcalfe, Georgia Evans; Jorja Aiono, Bethan Lewis (capt), Bryonie King .
Replacements: Molly Reardon, Maisie Davies, Donna Rose, Natalia John, Alisha Joyce, Sere Lockwood, Freya Bell, Nikita Prothero.
OFFICIALS
Referee: Aurelie Groizeleau (FFR)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexandra Ferre (FFR)
Assistant Referee 2: Beatrice Smussi (FIR)
TMO: Paulo Duarte (FPR)
FPRO: Dan Jones (RFU)
WHAT THEY SAID:
Scott Bemand (Ireland head coach): "The home games are really massive for us. Certainly, the away games in this competition, going over to Twickenham and Clermont, were going to be two big test matches. I think we acquitted ourselves well in those, but you've got to win your home games. In terms of where we are and where we want to get to, we've got to win these home games."
Sean Lynn (Wales head coach): "This is a new-look Wales squad and it's all about sticking to our principles and process and focussing on what we want to do and expect from ourselves in the Test arena. Every game in this tournament has seen us build another layer of the team we aspire to be and we expect to come away from Ireland having done the same.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
2025: Wales 14-40 Ireland, Rodney Parade, Newport
2024: Ireland 36-5 Wales, Virgin Media Park
2023: Wales 31-5 Ireland, Cardiff Arms Park
2022: Ireland 19-27 Wales, RDS Arena
2021: Wales 0-45 Ireland, Cardiff Arms Park
Elsewhere, defending champions England will be expected to move a step close to another title when they take on Italy in Parma on Saturday afternoon, before Scotland host France in Edinburgh.
