Six Nations 2023 - Wales v Ireland, Sat 4th Feb, KO 2:15PM - TV: VM1, BBC1, S4C

Excellent team. Great chance for a number of players to lay down a marker for inclusion in the WC squad.

If we can't beat that Welsh team we really have problems and it's best Farrell finds out now rather than later.

That's a pretty old Wales team. Once we don't lose someone to a silly red we should pull away in the last 20.

Some debate about Crowley elsewhere but RB off bench for Jonny is sensible. Coombes combativeness might have been good for this one but we just have a lot of talent from 6 to 8 and I'm sure he'll get his outing.

Very smart by Farrell. Cute hoare.

I absolutely love this.

People are reading far too much into Murray not being picked for that home game. We've two young inexperienced scrum halves, if coaches wanted to see how they go at European level a home game against Northampton was the one to do it. Thought it was good management myself if that was their reasoning. I don't think he was dropped because of poor form if that is what is being insinuated here.

He was back in the squad for the away game to Toulouse. And I'd wager will be in every squad/starting in that comp if fit for the rest of the season however far Munster progress

The WalesOnline pre-match player head to heads never fail to entertain.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/wales-v-ireland-head-head-26141127

Including Aki on the bench probably to do with getting him some game time before France and the rest of the tournament. Farrell won't take anything for granted but he will be going to Wales confident of a win, as he should. Ringrose can cover the wing if needed, Hansen to FB if necessary. I would guess that Farrell won't mind too much having to mix things up with these players and play them as the circumstances demand. Same goes for the front row, this is what squad rotation looks like. Winning this game with ToT, Aki, Murray and RB on the field will be a positive.

He seems to living rent free in a few posters minds.

That smacks of an attitude that its all about the WC and the championship is secondary. We haven't won enough Slams or championships to be so blase. Lets go all out for those and deal with the WC when it comes. Many people seem to be looking at getting to the semis as an achievement. If we get there but don't win out, then its no better then going out in the quarters.

Actually getting to a semi final is better than going out in the quarters. it would be some form of progress. every single time in a world cup we've had a knockout match where its win or go home we've went home. that needs to change and if that means treating the 6Ns as secondary then so be it.

If we get there but don't win out, then its no better then going out in the quarters.

I see the point, but I'd have a small disagreement with this. The QF ceiling seems to be a huge psychological barrier for Irish teams, for whatever reason. I'd argue that getting to a SF, even if we lost it, would at least get that monkey off our back.

I think it's similar to where we were vs NZ prior to Solider Field.

Farrell did his experimenting over the last 3 years. Wales away on opening day of the 6N isn't a game to experiment if you want to win a GS. Saturday is an enormous game. If we lose, the Championship is almost certainly gone.

I know '6 nations games tend to be close' but the All Blacks that won the RWC would hammer this welsh team. The current French setup would easily beat this Welsh team while rotating and playing new combinations

Farrell won't change many of this team for the rest of the 6 nations unless there are injuries.

I get it, he wants to stress test the team, but you can't play your 1st preference players in every round of the RWC if you have any ambition to play more than the pool stages.

Every game introduces the risk of injury or suspension.

RWC winners play with the biggest squads. They rotate heavily in the pool stages, so that there is depth, and to reduce the risk of too many key players being injured for the knockout stages.