At this point in the 2024 Six Nations, Ireland look like incredibly heavy favourites to go on and win the championship.
Andy Farrell's side are the only nation that have caught the eye in a positive sense over the opening two rounds of fixtures, impressing during convincing wins over France and Italy. In contrast, most other teams have displayed glaring weaknesses in numerous areas of their game.
It would be a surprise now if Ireland did not go and win a Grand Slam, with a trip to England and home games against Wales and Scotland still to come.
The fixture against Warren Gatland's team is next on the horizon, with the Welsh set to visit Dublin on February 24th. Ahead of that one, it seems not too many in Wales are confident of pulling off a shock.
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Wales legend not looking forward to Ireland Six Nations game
Shane Williams was part of some excellent Wales teams in the past, sides that were often capable of producing surprising Six Nations wins against teams that many outsiders considered to be more talented than their own.
However, he is not expecting a similar outcome on this occasion.
Speaking on the Evening Standard Rugby Podcast, Williams admitted that he was 'fearful' for his former team ahead of their trip to the Aviva Stadium next week.
I’m fearful of this game, I really am. I’m hugely impressed by how Ireland are playing the game. Even on Sunday, although Italy didn’t score a point, they didn’t play poorly.
I thought they had a real go, I thought they kept the ball really well, they were just massively frustrated by a well-organised defence.
Even in attack, Ireland had to work really hard for their tries; it wasn’t as if they were scoring 70 or 80-yarders untouched.
They’re going to play through 20 phases plus, that’s how they do it. They grind you down, get lineouts five metres from the line.
We would go on about the hooker, (Dan) Sheehan, becoming the all-time top try-scorer ever for international rugby, that’s how they work.
They made Italy look quite poor, but I was quite impressed by Italy, so it may be the same thing for Wales up there...
Warren Gatland will be happy if they continue their progression, if they look like they’re getting more organised, if they’re getting their game plan together.
Ireland will certainly be huge favourites to win this game, taking another step towards retaining their Six Nations crown in the process.
Wales are a very young team, with the overhaul Warren Gatland has conducted within the squad likely to reap some major benefits in the long-term. In saying that, it's likely that this fixture has come too soon for them.
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