Steve Tandy makes three changes as Wales prepare for Ireland clash

In the backline, there are two changes with Dan Edwards returning at fly-half for Sam Costelow while Ellis Mee returns on the right wing as a replacement for Gabriel Hamer-Webb.

Costelow's absence is due to an ankle injury, and he is in a race to be fit for Wales☠final Six Nations encounter against Italy in Cardiff on March 14.

Edwards wore the number 10 jersey for Wales' first two matches in the Championship against England and France before being axed for their Scotland clash. He will form a half-back combination with experienced scrum-half Tomos Williams, while Eddie James and Joe Hawkins continue as the starting centre combination.

The rest of the backline sees Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams retaining their spots at full-back and on the left wing, respectively.

Meanwhile, the only change to the forwards sees James Botham promoted from the bench to take over from Taine Plumtree in the starting back-row.

Plumtree is ruled out of Friday's clash due to a shoulder injury sustained during the early stages of Wales' narrow defeat to Scotland in Cardiff.

His absence means Tandy has reshuffled his back-row with Alex Mann shifting from the openside flank to blindside with Botham starting in the number seven jersey while Aaon Wainwright continues at number eight.

The rest of the pack sees Ben Carter and Dafydd Jenkins continuing as the two locks while, in the front-row, captain Dewi Lake packs down at hooker alongside Tomas Francis and Rhys Carre, who are the starting props.

Among the replacements, Bath centre Louie Hennessey is set to make his senior international debut while Adam Beard (lock) and Olly Cracknell (back-row) join the forward cover for this match.

Tandy has opted for a traditional five/three forwards/backs split on his replacements bench with Ryan Elias, Nicky Smith and Archie Griffin offering front-row cover while Kieran Hardy and Jarrod Evans the other backline replacements.

The Wales boss is hoping for his charges to build on their much-improved showing against Scotland.

"There are a couple of enforced changes this week due to injury and then Ellis had played well in the opening couple of rounds, so we feel he deserves the opportunity again," said Tandy.

"This week it's about backing up the performance against Scotland. Going away from home is a different type of environment for our group, but the focus for us is really improving on what we did last game.

"I thought the defence against Scotland was much improved so we definitely want to double down on that going to Ireland. You see how they keep the ball in possession, they play lots of passes so we know we're going to have to build and improve from the other week."

Tandy is excited by the prospect of handing Hennessey Tandy his Test debut.

"Louie was unfortunate not to get his opportunity in the autumn, but he's trained really well," he said.

"He had a bit of a bump on his hand at the start of this campaign, but the way he's recovered and put performances in the training environment has been very impressive.

"We're all excited to see Louie go out in Dublin."

Wales are currently on a 14-match losing streak in the Six Nations which stretches back to 2023.

Wales team to take on Ireland

Wales: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 James Botham, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Rhys Carre

Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Louie Hennessey

Date: Friday, March 6

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Kick-off: 20:10 GMT

Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)

Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (GRU), Damian Schneider (UAR)

TMO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)

FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)