Ireland vs Wales 2022: team lineups for rugby Six Nations opener, date, kick off time and where to watch on TV

Rugby’s greatest Championship gets underway in Dublin this weekend as the 2018 winners take on the reigning champions.

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The 2022 Six Nations Championship gets underway this weekend and it’s one of the biggest fixtures of the competition kicking things off as Ireland take on Wales.

The reigning champions travel to Dublin with a squad that is severely depleted by injuries while the hosts are high on confidence after an impressive 2021 Autumn International series.

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The match in the Irish capital will be the prelude to the Calcutta Cup clash between Scotland and England at Murrayfield the same day before France host Italy on Sunday.

Here is everything you need to know about how to watch the match, when and where it kicks off and how the teams will line-up:

Ireland v Wales Six Nations 2022 date and kick off time

Ireland player Jonny Sexton (r) chats with coach Andy Farrell during training ahead of the Guinness Six Nations match against Wales at  Millennium Stadium on March 15, 2019Ireland player Jonny Sexton (r) chats with coach Andy Farrell during training ahead of the Guinness Six Nations match against Wales at  Millennium Stadium on March 15, 2019
Ireland player Jonny Sexton (r) chats with coach Andy Farrell during training ahead of the Guinness Six Nations match against Wales at Millennium Stadium on March 15, 2019

Ireland v Wales is the first match of the 2022 Six Nations and kicks off at 14:15 UK time on Saturday, February 5.

The Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which hosts all of Ireland’s home rugby internationals will be the venue for the fixture.

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Ireland were 24-14 winners the last time they played Wales at home in the 2020 Six Nations but Wales were 21-16 winners in last year’s tournament when they met in Cardiff.

Ireland v Wales Six Nations 2022 team news

Both teams have already been named ahead of their 2022 Six Nations opener.

For Ireland, Johnny Sexton win his 102nd cap and will captain his country.

The Starting XV and replacements for Ireland are:

  1. Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD) 40 caps
  2. Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne) 16 caps
  3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf) 52 caps
  4. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne) 25 caps
  5. James Ryan (Leinster/UCD) 40 caps
  6. Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 12 caps
  7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD) 35 caps
  8. Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere) 22 caps
  9. Jamison Gibson Park (Leinster) 12 caps
  10. Johnny Sexton (Leinster/St Mary’s College) 101 caps - Captain
  11. Mack Hansen (Connacht) uncapped
  12. Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians) 33 caps
  13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD) 37 caps
  14. Andrew Conway (Munster/Garryowen) 27 caps
  15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD) 16 caps

Replacements: 16. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne) 2 caps 17. Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf) 112 caps 18. Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers) 18 caps 19. Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University) 6 caps 20. Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution) 79 caps 21. Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen) 92 caps 22. Jey Carbery (Munster/Clontarf) 27 caps 23. James Hume (Ulster/Banbridge) 1 cap.

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For Wales, Dan Biggar takes on the captaincy in the absence of the injured Alun Wyn Jones.

The Starting XV and replacements for Wale are:

  1. Wyn Jones (Scarlets – 38 caps)
  2. Ryan Elias (Scarlets – 23 caps)
  3. omas Francis (Ospreys – 60 caps)
  4. Will Rowlands (Dragons – 13 caps)
  5. Adam Beard (Ospreys – 29 caps)
  6. Ellis Jenkins (Cardiff Rugby – 14 caps)
  7. Taine Basham (Dragons – 7 caps)
  8. Aaron Wainwright (Dragons – 34 caps)
  9. Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 29 caps)
  10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints – 95 caps) - Captain
  11. Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby – 12 caps)
  12. Nick Tompkins (Saracens – 16 caps)
  13. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby – 35 caps)
  14. Johnny McNicholl (Scarlets – 8 caps)
  15. Liam Williams (Scarlets – 74 caps)

Replacements: 16. Dewi Lake (Ospreys – uncapped), 17. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 5 caps), 18. Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby – 34 caps), 19. Seb Davies (Cardiff Rugby – 13 caps), 20. Ross Moriarty (Dragons – 49 caps), 21. Gareth Davies (Scarlets – 65 caps), 22. Callum Sheedy (Bristol Bears – 13 caps), 23. Owen Watkin (Ospreys – 26 caps).

What Channel is Ireland v Wales on? How to watch Six Nations 2022 and live stream

The 2022 Six Naitions opener between Ireland and Wales is live on ITV in the UK.

Coverage of the event starts at at 13:30 which is 45 minutes before kick-off.

You can also stream the math live on the ITV Hub.

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Viewers who want to watch in Welsh can tune into S4C and viewers in the Republic of Ireland can watch on RTE 2.

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