2021 Six Nations Championship – Wales vs Ireland Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Wales vs Ireland taking place? Sunday 7th February, 2021 – 15:00
Where is Wales vs Ireland taking place? Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Where can I get tickets for Wales vs Ireland? Visit this link for ticket information
What channel is Wales vs Ireland on? BBC
Where can I stream Wales vs Ireland? Wales vs Ireland can be streamed via BBC iPlayer
THE TEAM NEWS
WALES
- Wales endured a dismal defence of their 2019 Six Nations title as the post-Warren Gatland era began in 2020 with just one win out of five matches against lowly Italy.
- There were plenty of calls for head coach Wayne Pivac to go after the conclusion of the Six Nations and a poor Autumn Nations Cup campaign, where they beat only Georgia and Italy, did not help to soften that mood.
- The 2021 Six Nations campaign has already started in disappointment for under-fire Pivac as Wales winger Josh Adams was suspended for two games for breaching covid-19 regulations and fellow wing Liam Williams will miss this match too as he serves a suspension.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Nick Tompkins
IRELAND
- Ireland ultimately underperformed at the 2020 Six Nations with a third round loss to England at Twickenham spoiling their chances and they could not defeat France in Paris on the final day to end up in third place.
- Andy Farrell’s Ireland went on to lose to England again in the Autumn Nations Cup in November to settle for a third-place play-off place where they comfortably beat Scotland 31-16.
- 35-year-old Ireland captain Johnny Sexton put in a full training session on Tuesday and will be fit to start away at Wales in Cardiff, where the Irish have not won since 2013.
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jonathan Sexton (c), 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Will Connors, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Jordan Larmour
THE PREDICTION
It is desperately sad to start the Six Nations in much the same way it ended, with no spectators, and that looks set to be a key factor in some of the tighter fixtures throughout the tournament. Ireland have not won this fixture in Cardiff since 2013 but the contrasting moods in both camps would make this seem possible enough without the extra incentive of a fan-less Principality Stadium. Wales’ offence will surely be blunted by the suspensions of likely starters Josh Adams and Liam Williams. It remains to be seen if Wayne Pivac’s Wales side have changed since last season’s Autumn Nations Cup doldrums but Andy Farrell will be targeting a statement win here and Ireland can cover -3 in a potentially tournament defining victory.
