6N Preview: Ireland v Wales
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:19
Pretty picture: Croke Park in Dublin
Croke Park on Saturday and the mournful sounds the Fields of Athenry to add to the patriotic mood of the place. Mournful song or not, the Croke Park crowd will be happy and eager to support their team, but with the respectful manners that the Irish do better than any other country.
The Irish have no particular ill-feelings to towards the Welsh, all being Celts together. They have lost to Wales more often than they have won, but not this century. Ireland have dominated the decade and they will want to win this one.
Wales have only pride to play for as even the Triple Crown is now beyond them. Perhaps they have pride. There was a flash of it when they beat the Scots, but really they had good fortune that Cardiff day.
The Irish, reigning champions, have the Triple Crown to play for and even the Six Nations if the rampant French slip up. They certainly have pride and several seasoned warriors who know what a joy winning is.
They have great veterans and none more so than captain Brian O'Driscoll, who becomes the second Irish player to win 100 caps for his country, one of the greatest players in the history of the game. They also have some stars starting to shine brightly - Jon Sexton, Cian Healy, Keith Earls and Tomas O'Leary.
You look down the units of the teams and apart from the front row it's hard to see where Wales are better. You look down the individuals and apart from Lee Byrne, Shane Williams and perhaps Stephen Jones it is hard to see who are better than their opponents. As units and individuals, the Irish look much the stronger.
Ireland will surely win their line-outs. In three Six Nations matches this year they have lost just one (skew throw) and won 13 off their opponents. Wales have lost 10 and won just two off their opponents.
The front rows look much of a muchness, especially as Wales are without Gethin Jenkins, such a good footballer. At loose forward Wales have disappointed and now they are without Ryan Jones, big and fast but disappointing this year.
The halfbacks look pretty even but Ireland surely have the edge at centre and even Ireland's back three may have the better of Wales's, though both sets have the potential to excite.
In fact it could just be an exciting match with lots of movement. It could be the most thrilling Six Nations match of 2010.
Players to Watch:
For Ireland: Brian O'Driscoll as he reaches 100 caps. It's a great occasion for him and for Ireland and for rugby football, a dashing, exciting player even in the era of "structures". Watch him and honour him. In the Irish pack there is big, unmistakable Paul O'Connell, slightly bemused looking but certain and brave in his efforts.
For Wales: Lee Byrne (Wales) who has the power to excite though his basics were poor in his first match back from injury. If he shakes that off he can ignite a match. Wales have Martyn Williams of the red hair, often creating things, often penalised.
Head to Head: Martyn Williams (Wales) against David Wallace (Ireland) for the tackled ball, the Welshman flamboyant and often inaccurate, the Irishman strong, silent and effective, probably the stronger of the two. There will be the inevitable battle between the scrumhalves - the sturdy, competitive Tomas O'Leary of Ireland and the energetic Richie Rees of Wales. At flyhalf there is a good contest between Simon Jones, skilled and wise, a controller of a game, and Jonathan Sexton, skilled and exciting, a creator in the game. But perhaps, given the ball and an few opportunities, the best contest could just be between Tommy Bowe (Ireland) and Shane Williams (Wales), probably the best wings in Europe this year. It would be too simplistic to describe it as rapier vs broadsword, mercurial Shane vs strong Tommy, both quick men, both opportunistic.
Results this century:
2009: Ireland won, 17-15 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
2008: Wales won, 16-12 at Croke Park, Dublin
2007: Ireland won, 19-9 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
2006: Ireland won, 31-5 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin
2005: Wales won, 32-20 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
2004: Ireland won, 36-15 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin
2003: Ireland won, 35-12 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin
2003: Ireland won, 25-24 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
2002: Ireland won, 54-10 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin
2001: Ireland won, 36-5 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
rugby365.com Prediction: Ireland by more than 10.
Teams:
Ireland: 15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4
Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Rob Kearney.
Wales: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Martyn Williams (captain), 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Sam Warburton, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin
Date: Saturday, 13 March 2010
Kick-off: 14.30 (14.30 GMT)
Venue: Croke Park, Dublin
Expected weather conditions: Cold and possibly wet. Partly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain a high of 9°C, dropping to -4°C and a northwester of 21
km/h. Keep warm.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Chris White (England), Peter Allan (Scotland)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
By Paul Dobson
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