Wales vs Ireland LIVE rugby: Six Nations latest build-up and updates as hosts begin life after Warren Gatland

Wales begin life after Warren Gatland as Six Nations favourites Ireland come to Cardiff looking to continue their grand slam charge.

The first fallow week brought an end to Gatland’s second stint in charge of a nation to which he has given so much, with a 14-match losing run ultimately making his position untenable. While the search for a successor is underway, Cardiff boss Matt Sherratt has been appointed on an interim basis until the end of this campaign and will hope to spark new life in a down-trodden squad looking to lift the gloom.

Any immediate uptick in fortunes feels, perhaps, unlikely with a formidable foe arriving at the Principality Stadium. Ireland may be missing skipper Caelan Doris among a clutch of injury absentees but this is a side that has thrived in adversity before, with their enviable depth displayed in a selection showing a number of changes but limited drop-off in strength.

Follow all of the latest from Cardiff in our live blog below:

Ireland make sweeping changes for Wales clash as Dan Sheehan named captain

Hooker Dan Sheehan will captain a much-changed Ireland side as the Six Nations favourites bid to continue their grand slam charge against Wales.

Harry Latham-Coyle22 February 2025 09:20

Wales ready to see their next head coach in Cardiff – and it’s not Matt Sherratt

Whatever moment they thought represented rock bottom – the first-ever home defeat to Fiji in November perhaps or the 52-20 humiliation against an unproven Australia side seven days later – there is definitely a new feel to things heading into this weekend.

Not exactly optimism, given that the visitors are a well-drilled Ireland side who are on track to become the first team in Five or Six Nations history to win three back-to-back outright titles, but at least hope that something, anything, may be different in Cardiff. And, at this point, different can hardly be worse. Can it?

Luke Baker22 February 2025 09:00