Ireland seek Wales stepping stone for England showdown
cardiff — Ireland will attempt to set up an audacious bid for Six Nations glory over frontrunners England when they face Wales on Friday.
A victory for Joe Schmidt’s team, allied with an English win over the ever-improving Scotland side on Saturday, would make for a mouthwatering Six Nations title decider in Dublin on March 18.
But Ireland’s games with Wales are notoriously close, and it would be a brave person to rule out a Welsh team, albeit misfiring, playing at home with pressure on to assure a top-eight World Rugby ranking for the draw for the 2019 World Cup and also to shine in a bid to help guarantee spots on the British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand in the summer.
The Irish kicked off their Six Nations campaign with a surprise defeat by Scotland before bouncing back to beat Italy and France.
Wales overcame the Italians before slumping to defeats by England and Scotland, and find themselves contemplating a third consecutive Six Nations loss for the first time since 2007.
Both teams are unchanged for the Friday night fixture at the Principality Stadium, Rob Howley’s decision not to blood some younger Welsh players in place of more experienced but underperforming stars raising eyebrows.
“As coaches, we discussed giving the opportunity to the side to redeem themselves for the secondhalf performance against Scotland,” Howley said.
“Obviously, I know things have been said in the week about some players’ performance. But as a coaching team, we have talked about the opportunity just to go out again.
“There is an opportunity to go out at home in front of our own supporters and deliver a performance which the players are proud of and for the supporters to support that. It will be a huge game.” —