Wales v Ireland: A look ahead

Wales v Ireland: A look ahead

The third round of the 6Nations kicks off this weekend and the excitement continues to build up for the fixture between Wales and Ireland at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday 22nd February. Newly elected Wales interim head coach Matt Sherratt will take charge of his first game after former head-coach Warren Gatland stepped down following Wales’s loss to Italy in round two.

Wales and Ireland have faced off 135 times since 1882. Historically Wales have dominated this fixture, winning 70 of their 135 encounters, with Ireland winning on 58 occasions and seven draws.

However Ireland have won four of the last five Guinness Men’s Six Nations fixtures against Wales, with the one loss coming back in 2021. In last year’s encounter, Ireland ran out convincing 31-7 winners against Wales, making it three consecutive 20-plus-point wins in a row for the Irish.

Ireland are looking for an unprecedented third consecutive Championship title, and remain as the only team with an unbeaten record in the tournament so far. The Triple Crown will also be up for grabs, if Ireland can win in Cardiff, it would be their 14th Triple Crown, and first since 2023.

Wales have not had the best start to the tournament, suffering two defeats in the opening two rounds. With Sherratt in interim charge, fans will hope to see an increase in attacking rugby, with Wales having only scored two tries (one a penalty try) so far in this campaign. 


Ireland face injury concerns to key players. Rónan Kelleher and captain Caelan Doris remain on the sidelines due to neck and knee injuries respectively, while Iain Henderson (hamstring) and Cormac Izuchukwu (ankle) are also unavailable due to injury.

Wales, under Matt Sherratt’s interim leadership, are undergoing a period of transition.S herratt has immediately set about making changes to the Welsh squad, calling in two specialist fly-halves in Harlequins’ Jarrod Evans and Gloucester’s Gareth Anscombe. Sherratt has also called up Gloucester centre Max Llewellyn, one of the form players this season in the Gallagher Premiership, with the second most tries in the league (seven).




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