Road to Japan.

Ireland got back to winning ways against Wales over the weekend with a much-needed 22-17 win at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Much was said about the defeat to England the week before, but a number of players really stepped up against Warren Gatland’s side on Saturday.

But this weekend will be a completely different story. Wales are expected to go full strength, as are Ireland, as both sides look to get a big win under their belts before they fly out to Japan for the Rugby World Cup.

Johnny Sexton, Keith Earls and Robbie Henshaw are yet to play during Ireland’s warm-up series so we expect all three to start. Cian Healy meanwhile looks set to miss the game with an ankle injury, leaving the door open for Dave Kilcoyne to impress again.

In the back-row, Peter O’Mahony did an excellent job at openside on Saturday and could very well start there again, allowing Schmidt to start both CJ Stander and Jack Conan, in what could be a very interesting combination. He may, however, choose to bring Josh van der Flier back in or give Tadhg Beirne another go at six.

Our Ireland team to face Wales

1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Rory Best
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Tadhg Beirne
5. James Ryan
6. CJ Stander
7. Peter O’Mahony
8. Jack Conan

9. Conor Murray
10. Johnny Sexton
11. Jacob Stockdale
12. Robbie Henshaw
13. Garry Ringrose
14. Keith Earls
15. Rob Kearney

Replacements: Niall Scannell, Andrew Porter, John Ryan, Jean Kleyn, Josh van der Flier, Luke McGrath, Jack Carty, Andrew Conway