Ireland v Wales LIVE: Result and reaction from Six Nations

Ciaran Frawley is given the starting 15 shirt by Andy Farrell in the absence of the injured Hugo Keenan, but Caelan Doris is fit and starts in the back row after an injury scare, sliding across to number eight.

There are six forwards on the Ireland bench, including a potential debutant in Oli Jager, who impressed with the Crusaders in New Zealand before a midseason move to Munster, with Conor Murray and Stuart McCloskey the back replacements.

Ireland XV: 1 Andrew Porter, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Tadhg Furlong; 4 Joe McCarthy, 5 Tadhg Beirne; 6 Peter O’Mahony (capt), 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelan Doris; 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 10 Jack Crowley; 11 James Lowe, 12 Bundee Aki, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 14 Calvin Nash; 15 Ciaran Frawley.

Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Oli Jager, 19 James Ryan, 20 Ryan Baird, 21 Jack Conan; 22 Conor Murray, 23 Stuart McCloskey.

It’s a dry and chilly afternoon in Dublin, with the fans filing in to the Aviva Stadium as kick off creeps ever nearer. Despite their remarkable winning run, here’s been a bit of chat about Ireland’s ground being slightly flat of late - will the home supporters lift the volume this afternoon?

Let’s take a closer look at the two sides set to joust this afternoon...

Wales prop Keiron Assiratti is set to face Guinness Six Nations opponents Ireland a year after his professional rugby career hung in the balance.

The tighthead considered signing for Welsh Premiership club Merthyr as the regional game in Wales grappled with major financial issues that stalled contract offers to players.

Assiratti had nothing on the table from Cardiff, and he seriously considered dropping down a level, while also potentially finding work outside of rugby.

But the subsequent turnaround in fortunes surpassed all expectations, with a one-year deal eventually being signed last summer before an extended contract was agreed midway through this season.

Andrea Piardi will make history this afternoon as he becomes the first Italian to take charge of a men’s Six Nations match. Piardi has had a fine couple of seasons in the United Rugby Championship, overseeing last season’s final, and will make his competition debut with the whistle in Dublin as one of two debutant referees this weekend - England’s Christophe Ridley has been appointed to France vs Italy tomorrow.

Nick Tompkins says that Wales are excited and not daunted by the challenge that awaits them against Guinness Six Nations title favourites Ireland on Saturday.

The odds are stacked against Wales, having not won a Six Nations game in Dublin since 2012 and facing a team marching ominously towards achieving back-to-back Grand Slams.

More than a third of Wales’ match-day 23 have cap totals in single figures, while a vastly-experienced Ireland team last suffered a Six Nations defeat two years ago.

Wales will face world champions South Africa at Twickenham in June due to Taylor Swift’s Principality Stadium concert.

The Springboks’ first game since their World Cup triumph in France will take place on June 22 as Wales prepare for their summer tour to Australia.

And the Qatar Airways Cup clash will be followed later the same afternoon by the Barbarians tackling Fiji at English rugby headquarters.

There is probably a parallel universe, not too different from our own, where Wales head into round three of the 2024 Six Nations with two wins from two and still in the grand slam hunt.

It’s certainly not too hard to imagine that rip-roaring second-half comeback against Scotland on the opening day leading to just one more measly try or penalty and thus a legendary victory, rather than an agonising 27-26 defeat.

And it’s similarly easy to envisage them converting that hard-fought 14-5 half-time lead at Twickenham a fortnight ago into a win, rather than watching England successfully overcome their biggest Six Nations deficit to scrape a 16-14 triumph.

Lions future versus Lions past

Wales boss Warren Gatland led the British and Irish Lions on their last three tours, including masterminding a Test series triumph against Australia in 2013 and a drawn series with New Zealand four years later.

He has left big shoes to fill for next year’s Australia mission, but his successor Andy Farrell was emphatically the leading candidate to take over on the back of Ireland’s stunning successes in recent seasons and he knows the Lions ropes, having worked as one of Gatland’s coaching assistants 11 years ago.

Their tactical battle this weekend will be fascinating as two of the finest rugby brains around put masterplans into operation.

Warren Gatland wants Wales to show no fear and embrace the challenge when they tackle “world-class” Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.

Wales have been largely written off – they are a 14-1 chance with some bookmakers – on the back of successive defeats against Scotland and England, while their last Six Nations win in Ireland was 12 years ago.

Ireland have lost just twice in their last 40 home Tests, need one more victory to equal England’s Six Nations record of 11 successive wins and are on a seemingly unstoppable march towards achieving historic back-to-back Grand Slams.

Hugo Keenan absence a blow for Ireland

Leinster full-back Keenan has proved a dominant force in attack and defence for Ireland during recent seasons.

A player who always seems to excel, he has emerged as arguably the leading full-back in northern hemisphere rugby, someone that head coach Andy Farrell knows is ultra-reliable and also offers star quality.

A knee injury, though, has sidelined him from the Wales clash, with Farrell calling up Keenan’s Leinster colleague Ciaran Frawley for a first Test start after two appearances off the bench.

Given Ireland’s supreme playing structure, Frawley will inevitably slot straight in, but Keenan is a major loss.