Wales are “not firing on all cylinders” ahead of their Six Nations clash with Ireland on Saturday, according to Irish rugby legend Rob Kearney.
On The Pat Kenny Show today, the former full-back predicted a ‘15 or 20’ point win against Warren Gatland’s side in the Aviva Stadium tomorrow.
Wales are without a win in the competition so far, while Ireland are soaring high in first place after defeating France and Italy in their opening two fixtures – and now have their sights on back-to-back Grand Slam victories.
Favourites
Kearney said the days when Ireland considered itself an underdog in rugby are long gone
“As a rugby nation we’ve come so far in the last few years that we enjoy being favourites and we should enjoy being favourites,” he said.
“We know that when we play to the best of our potential on a given day, we can beat any team in the world - and we shouldn’t shy away from that.
“I think it’s something inherent in our DNA as Irish people that we like being underdogs and not being touted as favourites.
“But I think this rugby team at the moment has given us all life lessons that we can do it, not just in sport, but in other walks of life too.”
Rob Kearney. Image: Brendan Moran/SportsfileOne of the big storylines of tomorrow's clash is Ciarán Frawley replacing the injured Hugo Keenan at 15, according to Kearney.
“It has always been an area of concern for Ireland that if Hugo got injured, who was next in line,” he said.
“Nobody really knew because there’s not an out-and-out 15 in the squad to replace him.
“Ciarán Frawley plays a majority of his rugby at 10 or 12 but can also play 15 – he’s one of these very versatile players who can play everywhere.
“It’s a big game for him but I think he’s certainly up for it.”
Ciaran Frawley in action for Leinster in 2018. Image: Andrew Surma/NurPhoto)Kearney said Wales will “absolutely” test Frawley with high balls from the get-go.
“When you look through a team sheet when the opposition team has been named, you go through it and look for potential chinks in the armour,” he said.
“Wales will look at Ciarán Frawley and see a guy who hasn’t played much at 15 - certainly not in international rugby - so let’s put some high balls in the air and see how he deals with them.”
Kearney said there were other options to replace Hugo Keenan at full-back, such as James Lowe, but the right choice was made to start Ciarán Frawley.
Ireland versus Wales will kick off in the Aviva Stadium at 2.15pm.
Main image: Ireland against Italy in the Six Nations earlier this month. Image: Stephen Bisgrove / Alamy Stock Photo
