Jones: ‘I still see us winning it, just...’

As a man who won three Grand Slam titles on home soil, Adam Jones expects Wales to repeat the trick in Cardiff on Saturday. His personal record of three from three in Cardiff is a good indicator of what might happen when Ireland visit, but there’s more precedent – with Wales winning the Slam nine times out of ten opportunities at home, with a loss to France in 1988 the sole exception. Jones did it in 2005 under Mike Ruddock, before adding a further two under Warren Gatland in 2008 and 2012.

But, there’s a lingering fear that it might not be all that straightforward this weekend, when Joe Schmidt leads his Ireland side into battle at the Principality Stadium. Since the Kiwi took charge in 2014, Ireland’s record has been superior to Wales – with three titles and one Grand Slam compared to no titles at all – and in only once (2016) did Gatland’s side finish above Ireland in the table.