'No chance of complacency' as Ireland eye new Wales challenge

Matt Sherratt is preparing the hosts for the Six Nations showdown after Warren Gatland's exit.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT; Assistant coach Andrew Goodman during an Ireland Rugby media conference at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Wales may be down but they are far from out in the eyes of an Ireland management adjusting to a Guinness Six Nations opponent expected to benefit from a new-coach bounce in Cardiff this Saturday.

When the Irish broke camp for a few days off following their second bonus-point victory of the 2025 campaign in Edinburgh 10 days ago, the management led by interim head coach Simon Easterby began preparations for a reunion at Principality Stadium with old foe Warren Gatland with the Welsh licking their wounds from a thoroughly dispiriting 14th consecutive Test defeat and looking ahead with trepidation to their first home appearance of championship against the back-to-back defending champions.

By the time the bulk of Easterby’s squad reconvened for a short mini-camp at the back end of the week, Gatland had departed and Cardiff boss Matt Sherratt had been installed as Wales’s head coach for the remaining three matches of this season’s Six Nations.

An attack coach of some renown, Sherratt is already getting rave reviews for the boost he has injected to a beleaguered squad that is still staring down the barrel of a second wooden spoon in a row after their defeat by Italy in Rome last time out. Also putting a spring in Welsh steps is the return of a trio of English Premiership backs who had been omitted by Gatland in favour of less experienced operators – fly-halves Gareth Anscombe and Jarrod Evans, and centre Max Llewellyn.

Factor in Tuesday’s confirmation that captain Caelan Doris and hooker Ronan Kelleher would be unavailable due to injury while this Saturday’s match would come too soon for Tadgh Furlong to complete his rehab on a long-niggling calf injury and all of a sudden, the prospect of a visit to a packed Principality Stadium with the roof on to play a re-energised Wales team looks just a little more dangerous.

How much change Sherratt can affect on a team of serial losers remains the most intriguing question but Ireland attack coach Andrew Goodman suggested the Irish brains trust was working overtime to recalibrate for the expected new threats.

“He's going to have a week, a week and a half together with his squad so they're going to be going after different areas,” Goodman said of the new Wales boss.

"He's a great coach, you've seen some of the great plays that he's had with Cardiff over the years, he's got a good attacking mindset so of course we'll have a bit of a look at what they've done there.

“Again it's all around what we do and our big rocks in our defensive system to make sure we've got all of those bits covered off and that we're looking for different cues. We'll have a look over Cardiff but also what Wales have been doing consistently over the last 12 months or so.” And then there are the boosts to morale and mindset a new coach can spark.

"I think it's happened before,” Goodman continued, “so it's one of those things to take away any complacency and make sure we're on edge and have got our big rocks sorted, as I said, so we're covered off defensively and in attack.

"I think he'll come in and give a bit of an emotional edge and energy to the group, and he's a well-respected coach over there, he's done a good job at Cardiff in the way they play, they use the ball well.

"So he'll have a couple of tricks up his sleeves to try to disrupt, I imagine a week and a half is enough time to get a couple of nice plays put together and try to cause disruption to our defence.” 

Goodman was adamant Irish complacency would not be a factor in Saturday’s proceedings, a point underlined by Wales’s strong record on home turf against their rivals from across the sea. Ireland lost in Cardiff as recently as the 2021 Six Nations, and there are plenty of survivors in the current set-up who have experienced the misery of a defeat at the Principality.

"It gives an edge to the week,” Goodman said of those players’ memories. “I think everyone here knows how tough a place it is to go, they're a passionate rugby nation, they're gritty rugby players who won't go away, they're going to stay for the full 80 minutes, so we've got to be right on our game.

"I don't think there's any chance of complacency in our group.” While the absences of Doris and Kelleher will be compensated for by ready-made, in-form replacements in the shape of Jack Conan at No.8 and Dan Sheehan at hooker, there will be a selection call to be made on the right wing with Mack Hansen having returned to training after missing the Murrayfield win with a tight hamstring to threaten Cavin Nash’s tenure in the number 14 jersey. And Goodman also confirmed Joe McCarthy is ready for a return having been concussed in training ahead of the opening-round game against England.

“Big Joe's been running around, it's been good to have him back out there. He's done his return to training with Leinster over the last couple of weeks and has been back in with us for the last week and a bit.”