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Captain's run all-clear as Ireland focused on discipline for Wales and fans' return

Ireland training at Lansdowne Road on Friday morning
Ireland training at Lansdowne Road on Friday morning

Ireland have a clean bill of health following this morning's captain’s run at the Aviva Stadium and are all systems go for tomorrow’s opening Guinness Six Nations clash against Wales.

The session the day before an international is generally a light run-out and defence coach Simon Easterby confirmed at lunchtime that there were no late injury concerns.

"Everyone’s good, no issues this morning, rain held off so looking good for tomorrow," he told RTÉ Sport.

Head coach Andy Farrell has included one new cap in his team to face last year’s winners, with Canberra native Mack Hansen starting on the wing for the 2.15pm kick-off.

The teams met in the corresponding fixture last season when Wales came out on top 21-16 following the 14th-minute dismissal of Peter O'Mahony, which put Ireland on the back foot as they chased a championship.

Easterby stressed the importance of maintaining discipline as they look for a record fifth home win in a row over the Welsh.

The Ireland panel at the Aviva on Friday morning

"Yeah, it's crucial," he said.

"I think every team would see discipline as being right at the top of the agenda in terms of getting right themselves and forcing the opposition to give you field position or chances to kick points through their indiscipline.

"So yeah, it's certainly at the forefront of everyone's minds.

"We have to work with the officials, players have a responsibility to do things in a legal manner.

"The game is tough enough these days without the guys having to do things outside of normal.

"So there are those mistakes and those unfortunate times when a player gets his tackle entry wrong or clean out wrong, there's a challenge in the air... we try, as much as we can, try to educate them as players and coaches and mitigate, and to try to reduce the chances of those things coming back to bite you.

"It's about being really accurate, good habits that you perform in training, making sure that we work hard at our techniques, in the ruck in particular, with the kick-chase and with the intensity there's always going to be clashes in rugby.

"It's a contact sport and guys are moving left and right and forward and there will be times when the player gets caught out."

The Aviva will welcome a Six Nations crowd back for the first time since the win over Wales in February 2020.

Easterby, capped 65 times for Ireland and twice for the Lions, added: "Some of these players have played 14 or 15 times and never played in front of a full house in a Six Nations game.

"I think the last time we had a full house for a Six Nations game was against Wales a couple of years ago.

"It’s going to be huge. It's one thing is playing for your country but when there’s a crowd connected to you, you’ve got your family in the stand watching, whether it’s your first cap or your 50th it’s so special.

"What the last couple of years has taught us is that players really are not taking that for granted any more.

"It’s so special and the connections that we can have with each other on the pitch and connect with the crowd and the guys back home makes a massive difference to the way they approach the game."

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Follow all of Ireland's Six Nations games via our live blogs on rte.ie/sport and on the RTÉ News App or listen to live radio coverage on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch live TV coverage of Ireland v Wales (5 February, 2.15pm) and England v Ireland (12 March, 4.45pm) on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player.