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Ireland's Cardiff mission: The Against The Head panel look ahead to Friday's showdown

Michael Swift, Marcus Horan and Donal Lenihan believe Ireland will win in Wales
Michael Swift, Marcus Horan and Donal Lenihan believe Ireland will win in Wales

It's do or die in Cardiff for Ireland this Friday night as they look to set up a championship decider with England with victory over a wounded Wales team. 

The Principality Stadium will be heaving with a home crowd expecting a serious response after the defeat to Scotland.

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Ireland also suffered a demoralising blow in Edinburgh but picked themselves off the canvas of that opening-weekend defeat to see off Italy and then France.

The Against The Head panel expects a backlash from Wales, but feel Ireland have enough in them to come away with victory.

"I think it’s going to be a different animal that you're going to see Friday night, for all kinds of reasons," said Donal Lenihan.

"We’ve seen Wales in the past, when the pressure is on, they always produce one big performance. But I think they're not quite as fit as they have been in the past. In the last number of years they wore the opposition down but I don’t think they're capable of doing that any more."

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Marcus Horan echoed that sentiment: “It’s a concern from a Welsh point of view. There’s a bit of a disconnect between the players.

"You know when a team is clicking, you can just give a pass and you know there's a guy supporting. They’re not on the same wavelength. I would question their fitness as well. I think Ireland have more staying power. I think they've way more in the tank.

Michael Swift is also confident of an Irish victory. “It’s all about the structures for Ireland," he said.

"Joe (Schmidt) pushes that, week in, week out. They are showing a few glimpses of more expansive play.

"The box-kicking from Conor Murray is vitally important because the kick-chase is so good. So they'll just keep doing what they've done to date. Scotland was a blip but the last two games they've really moved ion and I think they'll win.”

Live Six Nations coverage of Wales v Ireland on RTÉ Two and RTÉ Player from 7pm on Friday (KO 8pm), 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 Sunday.

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 Sunday.

Live coverage of Wales v Ireland in the Under-20 Six Nations on RTÉ Two from 6.15pm (KO 6.30pm) on Sunday.