RARELY HAVE three rounds felt like such glorified warm-up acts. Somehow Ireland's Six Nations campaign was always going to revolve around Saturday week's rendezvous with Wales and a renewal of old, eh, coaching acquaintances, and so it has come to pass. That it does so with Wales seeking the Triple Crown, the two countries perched atop the table and England's win in Paris having thrown the title into a four-way race gives it added lustre.

Ireland go into the game on an upward curve, effectiveness and confidence rising with each outing, while in terms of belief and momentum, Wales could hardly be in ruder health. It should be quite a day. It could be quite a game.

Basking in the 50th win of his seven-year tenure - albeit two of them, in Japan, when Niall O'Donovan was coach - Eddie O'Sullivan was not surprised by the speed of the Welsh transformation under Warren Gatland and agreed the ingredients are there for an exciting encounter.

"It could actually because I would say we're going in the right direction with our confidence and our form," he said. "You could have a cracking game on your hands, yeah. Two teams who are prepared to run and gun, and if you get a dry day in Croke Park it could be all bets are off. It should be a great spectacle."

Were it in Cardiff, you'd fear more for Ireland's chances but for Wales's first visit to Croke Park Ireland will be three- or four-point favourites, and Scotland's Chris Paterson ventured: "I can only judge on my experience and I think Ireland were probably a harder team to play than Wales were two weeks ago because I think we played better."

For his part, Gatland is playing down any personal rivalries.

"It's not any personal thing about Eddie," he insisted. "Ireland have been incredibly successful under him and have won Triple Crowns. We saw what they did to England in Croke Park last season and it's going to be a tough game for us. People can build this game any way they like but it's not about me or the two coaches. It's about the Welsh rugby team having the chance to go to Ireland to win the Triple Crown."

Gatland admitted Wales were conscious, in racking up 34 unanswered points in the second half against Italy in Cardiff on Saturday, the title could yet come down to points difference.

Reflecting their effective use of the bench and superior fitness, Wales's combined first-half score in three games is 29-30, whereas their cumulative second-half tally is 74-12. They have scored 10 tries (Ireland have eight) and James Hook and Stephen Jones have landed 21 place kicks out of 21.

Hence Wales still have a significant advantage in points difference as well as points but France's mental hang-up when facing the possibility of losing to England - do they hate them too much? - now means if Ireland beat Wales, England win in Scotland and France overcome Italy in Paris, there will be a four-way tie going into the final round.

"I didn't see the (Paris) game obviously but I had a sneaky feeling that at the moment, for some reason, they're probably one of the only teams in the world that have the hex over France," said O'Sullivan. "It's a great result for everybody else. It keeps the championship wide open."

Given France had an even weaker selection than the one that finished against Ireland, it perhaps also underlines what a missed opportunity Paris was a fortnight ago. This was the flip-side of that game, with Ireland scoring three of their five tries from Scottish mistakes, not to mention the glaring defensive deficiency for another when Paterson took himself out of the blue line.

Against the famed blitz defence being developed again by Gatland and Shaun Edwards, it will be the entire line rather than an individual that will push up into Irish faces. Whereas the Scots ran exclusively in straight lines in what amounted to an extended defensive workout, were Ireland also to concede 54 per cent of the possession and be obliged to make anything like 123 tackles, one would imagine Wales's array of gamebreaking backs would ask altogether tougher questions of Ireland's defence. O'Sullivan didn't necessarily see it that way though.

"They will be tougher but I would say there's a good chance against Wales that they're going to have half the ball and we'll have half the ball, so we're going to spend half the time defending and it's how you cope with that - that's the trick. There's no magic wand to get the ball off the opposition - unless they cough it up in the tackle or the ruck or they kick it to you, and in the modern game teams are not doing that."

O'Sullivan, innately wary of change, has effectively if belatedly reshuffled his cards - as much by force of circumstance as recognition of form - and the team now has an altogether more balanced blend of in-form players playing in position. At a stroke, the enforced return of Geordan Murphy energised Ireland's backline with a strike runner from fullback who can explore off-the-cuff chances in broken play or off turnovers to add to Eoin Reddan's pace closer in.

Now, at last, Ireland have other points of attack than the previously overplayed midfield.

Credit to O'Sullivan for overcoming his apparent mistrust of Murphy when Girvan Dempsey injured his left hip in training last Thursday, although given the time frame, it would have been crass to have done otherwise.

Now though, the coach has backed himself into a corner for what he conceded yesterday is "a selection headache" and rarely will one position cause so much interest as fullback when O'Sullivan announces his team tomorrow week.

Murphy should stay; indeed the backline should stay intact. But clearly the lineout will have to be addressed and not just in terms of personnel. It lacks zip and variation, though Niall O'Donovan had a point when reminding us Ireland had made a trade-off for two ball-carriers in Bernard Jackman - likely to make way for Rory Best - and Jamie Heaslip.

Paul O'Connell could well return if he comes through Munster's trip to Cardiff on Saturday, O'Sullivan confirming yesterday all seven replacements would be made available to their provinces this weekend.

Halfback is the big Welsh debate, Mike Phillips especially and Hook likely to replace the misfiring Dwayne Peel and Jones. Gatland has also close calls between Gethin Jenkins, Huw Bennett and Matthew Rees and Adam Jones and Rhys Thomas in maybe changing his frontrow en bloc again, while Alun Wyn Jones could re-enter the secondrow equation.

Gatland vowed, "We will be trying to put out our best team."

The coaches are liable to be up for this one anyway.

P W D L F A Pt

Wales 3 3 0 0 103 42 6

IRELAND 3 2 0 1 71 50 4

France 3 2 0 1 66 51 4

England 3 2 0 1 66 58 4

Italy 3 0 0 3 38 86 0

Scotland 3 0 0 3 34 91 0

Last weekend's results

Wales 47 Italy 8

Ireland 34 Scotland 13

France 17 England 24

Remaining fixtures

Sat, Mar 8th: Ireland v Wales (1.15); Scotland v England (3.15). Sun, Mar 9th: France v Italy (3.0). Sat, Mar 15th: Italy v Scotland (1.0); England v Ireland (3.0); Wales v France (5.0).