Ireland v Wales: match preview, where to watch and free tips

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for rugby union's Autumn Nations Cup series.

Where to watch

Channel 4 & S4C, 7pm Friday

Best bet

Wales +10
2pts 10-11 general

France to win Nations Cup
1pt 5-1 general

Match preview

Six Nations champions England are short-priced favourites for the new Autumn Nations Cup, a tournament designed to make up for the absence of a tour from the southern hemisphere nations this year.

The leading European teams plus Fiji will compete in two groups of four and then play off against each other according to their group finishing positions.

England, Ireland and Wales are all drawn together along with Georgia, while France, Scotland, Italy and Fiji do battle in the other half.

It’s a frenetic and unforgiving format offering plenty of room for rotation and experimentation, starting with Friday night’s opening clash between Ireland and Wales.

Wales are on their worst run since 2016 having suffered five successive defeats and are ten-point underdogs in Dublin.

However, although they have lost six of their last ten meetings with Ireland, only one was by more than ten points, and in a game that is traditionally low-scoring, that handicap could prove big.

Ireland coach Andy Farrell has rung the changes in his squad, most notably giving a first start to scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, while his Leinster teammate James Lowe also makes his debut on the wing.

Lowe is an electric talent but breaking up the traditional axis of Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton at nine and ten is a big step and Ireland may well need time to find some fluidity.

Wales meanwhile have gone full-strength, with flanker Justin Tipuric back after a bout of tonsillitis as the only change in their line-up.

They are on a poor run, but traditionally Wales dig deeper when their backs are against the wall and this fixture has produced more than 40 points only once in the last eight meetings.

Both teams have to face England in the coming weeks so will be going all out for victory, while on Saturday the Red Rose begin their campaign at home to Georgia while France face Fiji in Paris.

England will be more confident of facing Wales in Llanelli than France will be of going to Murrayfield, where they lost in the Six Nations earlier this year.

However, England look set to rotate their squad more in the coming weeks and try new combinations while France are looking to find a settled squad.

England were the Six Nations champions but France looked the better team, beating Eddie Jones’s men 24-17 in Paris, and they look a big price to claim the autumn spoils.

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