Who Will Win?
On Saturday 24th February, Ireland will host Wales at the Aviva Stadium in the third round of the Six Nations Championship.
Ireland will enter this clash as the favourites. After all, they’re the defending champions and they won the Grand Slam last year. Plus, the 2024 Six Nations is the perfect chance for them to bounce back from a disappointing Rugby World Cup campaign that ended at the quarter-final stage.
That said, Wales cannot be discounted. They’ve improved markedly since Warren Gatland returned as head coach, and some of their young attacking talent looks bright. Plus, they enjoyed a relatively successful Rugby World Cup campaign. Although a Welsh win in Dublin would be a shock, it certainly isn’t out of the question.
Think you know which way Ireland vs Wales will go? Vote in our poll.
Head-to-Head
Recent head-to-head form suggests that Ireland should win this match. After all, Andy Farrell’s men have won four out of the last five meetings between the two sides, with Wales winning the other. During this period, Ireland have averaged 27 points per match. Meanwhile, Wales have only averaged 12.
History also tells us that home advantage will be important for Ireland. After all, the home team has won 80% of the last five meetings between these two teams.
Team Form
Ireland are coming into the 2024 Six Nations Championship with a point to prove and a score to settle. Although they’re the reigning champions and they captured the Grand Slam last year, they endured a disappointing Rugby World Cup campaign and were eliminated at the quarter-final stage.
By contrast, Wales are rounding into form under the leadership of Warren Gatland. After a few years of below-par performances (including a fifth-place finish at the Six Nations last year), they’re now rejuvenated and looking to the future. They also enjoyed a solid Rugby World Cup campaign at the end of last year, where they reached the quarter-final stage.
Below our team form guide, you can see in-depth stats about how the two sides have performed in their last five games, including stats about the number of tries they’ve scored, their overall points difference and the number of times they’ve scored the first try. We’ve also detailed how often each team has scored the first points in a game and how often they’ve won the race to 10 points.
Player Head-to-Head
Past encounters between Ireland and Wales have been littered with historic individual performances. In fact, ties like this have often been settled by one moment of magic or an individual error.
But, who will be the star of the show this time? Well, with this in mind, here’s how Johnny Sexton and Gareth Anscombe have performed in recent clashes between the two teams.
Other Fixtures
Historically, Ireland vs Wales matches have been must-watch encounters. However, there are plenty of other top-class rugby matches taking place over the next few weeks, too. This includes several crucial Six Nations matches.
Take a look at all the upcoming fixtures and latest results with us and plan your viewing.
Live Updates
Jack Crowley converts the try.
Ireland are stopped just a few metres from the try line but Tadhg Beirne picks up from the base of the ruck to score the try.
James Ryan (Ireland) is shown a yellow card
The Ireland supporters go wild as Jack Crowley successfully kicks the conversion.
Ireland are only a few metres out, surely they must score! And they do with Ciaran Frawley touching down.
Tadhg Beirne (Ireland) is shown a yellow card
Jack Crowley does the business as their conversion attempt goes over.
Silky skills by Ireland ends with a try for James Lowe.
Jack Crowley makes no mistake with that conversion attempt.
Great forward play by Ireland allows Dan Sheehan to score the try.
Jack Crowley kicks the penalty.