PLAY IT AGAIN

Schmidt opts for same team in Cardiff clash

JOE SCHMIDT headed to Cardiff last night confident his out-of-character decision to select an unchanged starting line-up has Ireland primed to beat Wales and take the Six Nations title race to the final weekend.

Not since he visited Twickenham in February 2014 during his first months in charge has the New Zealander opted to go from one match to the next without making at least one change to his XV.

However, Ireland’s resolute win over try-less France has convinced him not to meddle with his selection, particularly in defence even though Jared Payne is now back on the scene.

The Ulster player, who missed Monday training with bruising, will likely play for his province in Saturday’s Pro12 back-match, leaving rookie Ringrose to start his fifth successive Test match for Ireland.

‘Emotionally our players will be up as well. They have to be because you can’t miss a beat because the margins are so fine. We have already been stung once this year, just going in a little under-

cooked and not being at the same level as our opponents (Scotland). I’d hope we will be as ready as Wales are. ‘Robbie [Henshaw] and Garry [Ringsrose] had a really good relationship and we’re building on that… Garry played really well against the French. Some of his defensive work was outstanding. We want him to continue to grow in that manner.’ Schmidt departed for Wales with no decision yet taken on whether the Principality Stadium roof will be opened or closed tomorrow night. Wales’ response to their own defeat in Scotland was to select their entire 23 en bloc to face an Ireland squad where there is just a single change to the bench. Tommy Bowe, axed after he failed to shine as a replacement against the Scots, returns as a sub in place of the injured Andrew Trimble. Schmidt insisted veteran Bowe was a form inclusion, not a decision based on his reputation. ‘I’m not sure whether over the last three and a half years how many nostalgic decisions I have made. I can’t really remember too many. ‘If you look at his last two Ulster performances, you will see his ability. ‘You take in account how somebody is training, calculate what they might bring to the game and then make some decisions. I challenge anyone to do as much work looking at how people are preparing. ‘The caveat of all that is I’m not claiming that we have got it right, I’m claiming that we have worked hard to try to make the best decisions.’ Victory tomorrow for Ireland would return them to the top of the table ahead of England’s game with Scotland on Saturday afternoon, but Schmidt (below) isn’t one for making predictions. ‘It’s a fantastic championship… there’s a real competitiveness about it. People love the fact you are not sure who is going to win from week to week. Coaches hate that because they like to know they are going to win. Anyone could try to pick a result on Friday and be 10 points out.’ The match will see Jamie Heaslip becoming a rugby Test centurion. The Ireland No8 will become the sport’s 45th player to clock up the ton tomorrow night, his caps haul made up of 96 Irish appearances and four with the Lions.