Ireland v Wales: Teams

At Croke Park, Saturday March 13, kick-off 2.30pm

Murphy: Warning

Ireland full-back Geordan Murphy has warned his team-mates to be on their guard against Wales at Croke Park.

Although Wales have lost to England and France, they have been one of the most entertaining side's in the championships this season - scoring seven tries and staging some rousing comebacks.

And although they have also conceded seven tries and only won two of their last 10 meetings with Ireland, Murphy insists they will pose a big threat.

"Wales have some great players," said the Leicester full-back.

"People have said they're not playing well but some of their tries are the best you'll see in the Six Nations.

"They're dangerous across the board when they play. Shane Williams can score a try from nothing. He has a fantastic sidestep.

"Leigh Halfpenny is the same. James Hook, Stephen Jones - they're great players. If you let them play, they're dangerous.

"And if you don't let them play they can still come back at you at any time.

"They've played some fantastic rugby even if by their own admission they're not playing as well as they'd like to. They have no fear of Croke Park either."

Murphy has retained his place at full-back, with fit-again Lion Rob Kearney having to settle for a place on the bench.

Brian O'Driscoll and Jamie Heaslip have been passed fit for the clash so Declan Kidney has made no changes to his starting XV.

World-class

Wales, on the other hand, have made three changes as they look to bounce back from their defeat to France.

Gareth Delve is handed a rare start at No,8 as Ryan Jones is injured and Andy Powell suspended.

Matthew Rees and Luke Charteris also come into the pack - with Huw Bennett dropping to the bench and Deniol Jones ruled out through injury.

On the bench, Dwayne Peel comes in for the sidelined Mike Phillips, while there is also a place for Ian Gough.

And despite going into the game having recorded just one win so far, wing Shane Williams insists the side is on the verge of being world-class.

"I honestly believe we could have won all of our first three games in the Six Nations this year," said the Ospreys star.

"And yet here we are with just a solitary win. You can't help the 'what ifs' running through your head, because we are such a better team than our results suggest.

"This is all so horribly frustrating. We keep saying the same thing over and over again, and poor (Wales coach) Warren Gatland must find it very difficult to watch us from the stands.

"For all the disappointment, however, there is a part of me that is proud of our performances because we've played some exciting rugby and contributed to some thrilling games so far.

"We really aren't far from being a world-class side, I promise you. It really is a matter of inches.

"There is tremendous character in this side, we never give up, but we need to turn that into more points and wins."

Ireland: 15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Robert Kearney.

Wales: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Martyn Williams (c), 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Ian Gough, 19 Sam Warburton, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin